(PR.co.nz) Tourism Minister Paula Bennett today announced $2.49 million in Tourism Growth Partnership funding for new tourist attractions in Rotorua and Southland.
“These initiatives will provide real benefit to their regions, creating new tourism offerings and more local jobs,” Mrs Bennett says.
“Tourism is now our biggest export earner, delivering $14.5 billion and an estimated 188,000 jobs to communities around New Zealand. The industry has experienced strong growth over the past few years and we will continue to help the sector attract high value visitors to explore our regions year round.
“Funding for new projects is complemented by the Government’s $12 million tourism infrastructure fund, providing support to districts that have a limited ability to respond to visitor growth. We expect a new infrastructure funding round to open soon.”
The successful projects are:
$810,000 to Skyfly Limited for a zip-line canopy tour through native forest in Rotorua
$630,325 to Rainbow Springs Kiwi Encounter for a new state-of-the-art kiwi facility in Rotorua
$550,000 to for stage 2 development of Classic Motorcycle Mecca in Invercargill, including a new exhibition space and experiential components
$500,000 toward the Curio Bay Tumu Toka Natural Heritage Centre and Experience in the Catlins in Southland.
A total of $23.54 million has been invested in 33 projects since the inception of the Tourism Growth Partnership in 2013.