A Southern Lakes alliance, including Wanaka, has scored a $8.5M grant from the central government’s regional events fund.

The grant, announced yesterday (Thursday September 10), will support the staging of events in Wanaka, Queenstown, Central Otago and Fiordland.

When announcing the funding, tourism minister Kelvin Davis confirmed that regions will be responsible for driving domestic tourism as part of the government’s tourism recovery plan.

“We are supporting the events sector as Tourism New Zealand advice indicates that up to one third of domestic travel is primarily driven by people looking to take part in events,” he said.

“Through this fund, we will empower regions to make the decisions around how the money is spent and what events are most likely to drive domestic visitation for their region. This means they can invest in existing events, developing new ones, capability building or events coordination.”

Queenstown Lakes District mayor Jim Boult said he is delighted with the funding. 

Mayor Jim Boult said events are the most effective way to encourage New Zealanders to visit the region more regularly. PHOTO: Supplied

Jim said the work of the Mayoral Taskforce for Tourism and Short-term Recovery identified events as the most effective way to encourage New Zealanders to visit the region more regularly.

“That the government recognised the value of events in supporting an economy such as ours is fantastic. Equally, that the minister saw fit to award $8.5M of the fund to the Southern Lakes is truly a show of confidence in the ability of our region to recover and once again become a major contributor to GDP.”

Jim said the grant will provide the opportunity to bring high quality events south while also supporting jobs in tourism.

The minister said the fund is a medium-term one designed to provide funding certainty for two to four years. 

Each grouping, including the Southern Lakes Alliance, must produce an investment plan prior to funds being released. The minister said investment plans should be submitted by early November, and funding agreements would be in place by December.

PHOTO: Supplied