Holidays for tourism

‘‘We would expect the Government to balance these factors up,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s not cut and dried, we obviously know it would be appealing to the tourism industry . . . It’s good the Government is open to the idea.’’

Ardern was joined by Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis and Minister for Ma¯ ori Development Nanaia Mahuta for a tour of the Ma¯ori Arts and Crafts Institute in the wake of an announcement of a $7.6m funding injection for the venture.

‘‘We’ve opened up for New Zealanders to see their own backyards and I encourage them to do that,’’ Ardern said.

She said the Government had set aside $400m for the wider tourism sector, though she acknowledged some ‘‘large-scale tourism operations may for a period of time have to go into hibernation’’.

‘‘We want to work alongside the industry to identify a path forward as a whole.’’ Ardern said work was under way on the trans-tasman ‘‘bubble’’, but could give no timelines. ‘‘Our plan has to be for the New Zealand tourism industry and see that open up again.’’

Ardern said the $400m set aside for the tourism sector ‘‘has within it a plan for the Government to work alongside the tourism industry’’.

Davis, however, acknowledged the importance of some strategic tourism operations.

‘‘If they were to fail that would have a wider impact on the region. We want to design solutions tailored to their needs.’’

Mahuta also said that Maori tourism ventures would play a key role in any economic recovery for the wider sector.

‘‘The unique offerings and the network of offerings can continue to build advantage in New Zealand, the way we tell our story, the hospitality, the destinations we have.’’