Hon Murray McCully
Minister of Tourism

• POLICIES FOR PROGRESS INDEX
• TOURISM RESULTS "OUTSTANDING"
• MILLENNIUM TOURISM BOOST
• RECOGNISING MILLENNIUM OPPORTUNITIES
• THE OPPORTUNITY
• QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
• BOOST FOR TOURISM

Tourism accounts for one in eleven or 150,000 jobs in New Zealand. An increase in tourism business will help provide additional opportunities for people seeking work in the tourism industry and provide greater job security to those already employed in the tourism sector.

What will this initiative mean for regional New Zealand?

Tourism is one of the key drivers of regional economies in New Zealand, providing much needed employment in traditional tourism activities as well as supporting other local businesses. More than 60% of international visitors venture beyond Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington during their stay in New Zealand.

In regions like Nelson/Tasman, tourism supports one in seven jobs and international tourists specifically contribute around $70 million per year to the local economy. In Taranaki, 1,800 jobs depend on tourism and a further 4,000 in Coromandel. In Queenstown, 95% of the 900 businesses that exist in the region are dependent on tourism for their livelihood. Any initiative that assists tourism is certain to have a positive effect on regional areas in New Zealand.

Why is the funding needed now?

We have an unprecedented opportunity in New Zealand to accelerate earnings from our tourism business. The series of mega-events taking place during the next eighteen months, and the fact that due to exchange rate movements New Zealand is 25% cheaper today than it was a year ago, make the prospects for New Zealand tourism better that any time in recent memory.

Rather than the usual task of chasing the world's attention, the world will be coming to us during the next eighteen months. The America's Cup will expose New Zealand to an international audience of 500 million viewers in 160 countries over a seven month period. Likewise, APEC will attract over 3,000 accredited media from the world's leading news agencies, reporting to an estimated audience of 1 billion people.

Never before has New Zealand had the attention of the world to this degree.

How will the money be spent?

The Minister of Tourism will be finalising plans for these funds in discussions with the New Zealand Tourism Board, industry leaders and key players in the mega-events program, including the millennium events.