Sector ‘underwhelmed’ by $178m funding

The Government’s announcement on $178 million in funding for tourism was met with a mixture of relief and disappointment from the industry.

After heavy lobbying for more government help to pay for facilities creaking under the strain of the tourism boom, there was relief that the politicians had listened, but disappointment at the level of support offered.

Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Chris Roberts said his organisation’s research indicated a fund of $100m annually was needed.

What they got was much less – $102m spread over four years, and more than $40m of that was shifted from other tourism funds.

Plus the Department of Conservation (DOC) received an extra $76m to cope with the impact of visitor growth.

Getting a commitment for more sustainable funding for tourism infrastructure and DOC were key parts of Tourism industry Aotearoa’s election manifesto released on Wednesday at its annual trade show.

Roberts said yesterday’s announcement from Tourism Minister Paula Bennett and Conservation Minister Maggie Barry was a step in the right direction.

‘‘The Government has listened and recognised where the issues are – that the infrastructure on the DOC estate needs to be upgraded and that those regions with small ratepayer bases and increasing number of visitors need a helping hand,’’ he said.

"We'll just have to wait and see whether the amount of money put towards it is going to be enough." Chris Roberts, Tourism Industry Aotearoa

‘‘The problems have been recognised, but we’ll just have to wait and see whether the amount of money put towards it is going to be enough.

‘‘It’s up to local councils and DOC to identify where the money can be spent and if it’s oversubscribed. If there are more worthy projects than the fund can support, there there’s going to be a chance to have this increased in future.’’

Tourism Export Council chief executive Lesley Immink said the Government’s contribution was ‘‘underwhelming’’.

It was effectively only an extra $60m because the remainder had been reallocated from other tourism-related funds.

‘‘That’s $15m a year over the next four years. What are their priorities? They talk about having a commitment to tourism but I’m not seeing any evidence of it.’’

Immink said the devil was in the detail because the criteria made it clear that applicants had to be struggling. ‘‘Councils that are running good organisations with a surplus are not going to be able to apply for it.’’

Margaret Munro heads stargazing tourism operator Earth & Sky at Tekapo, one of the small towns identified by Bennett as likely to qualify for funding.

Munro welcomed the Government announcement and said funding to deal with the impact of visitors was vital. For example, she said the installation of boardwalks around the Mt John observatory would help protect native tussocks that were being trampled by floods of tourists.

‘‘Something like 2.5 million people come through that State Highway which is a lot of pressure, even if only 10 per cent of them stopped in Tekapo.’’

Munro said money for roading could assist in efforts to realign the roads around Tekapo’s Church of the Good Shepherd, which was overwhelmed by visitors.