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 Minister, Murray McCully, says he has asked the New Zealand Tourism Board to specifically allocate $2 million from its joint venture budget to partnerships with regional tourism organisations (RTO's) or groups of RTO's. RTO's are funded by local authorities and local tourism operators.

Mr McCully announced the initiative to a meeting of over 100 Rotorua tourism operators today, organised by the local RTO, Tourism Rotorua.

"The Government is totally committed to the benefits of increased tourism activity flowing widely into the regions."

"The opportunity ahead is not just to put New Zealand on the map, but also for regions and groups of regions to put themselves on the map."

"At the same time, we need to invest strongly in maximising the impact of our time on the international stage. This announcement will provide a very real incentive for regions to invest new money specifically targetting opportunities over the next two years."

Mr McCully says the Board is being asked to make $2 million joint venture money available for partnerships with RTO's that are engaging in a new initiative with new money. Priority will be given to macro-region initiatives, carried out by groups of RTO's. The initiative must be taken in offshore markets and blend into the New Zealand Tourism Board's overall marketing strategy.

"The Centre Stage macro-region initiative, involving Wellington, the Wairarapa, Nelson and Marlborough was a good example of the type of partnership the Government wanted to encourage", the Minister said.

ENDS