Tourism fund opens for fourth round

Prime Minister and Minister of Tourism John Key has today announced the opening of the fourth funding round of the Tourism Growth Partnership.

“Under the Tourism Growth Partnership, the Government is making $8 million per annum available to boost innovation and lift productivity in the tourism sector to ensure New Zealand gains more from international visitors’ spend,” says Mr Key.

The Tourism Growth Partnership is a contestable co-investment fund that allows the Government to work in partnership with the tourism industry.

“Tourism is a significant part of our economy and a major employer.  In July we celebrated a record three million visitors to New Zealand in the past year. Those visitors spent $8.7 billion - up 28 per cent on the previous 12 months.

“We are keen to attract more visitors to New Zealand and we can do this by identifying and responding to new market opportunities and looking at what additional products and services we can provide,” says Mr Key.

Since the first round of the Tourism Growth Partnership $8,124,877 of funding has been approved across 15 projects.

More information is available at www.mbie.govt.nz/info-services/sectors-industries/tourism/tourism-growth-partnership.