The first direct international flight for 330 days touches down in Queenstown today (Monday May 23), on the heels of tourism minister Stuart Nash announcing new funding for three tourism networks to gear up for the return of international tourists and business travellers.

“The Qantas flight from Sydney means Queenstown officially becomes our fourth international airport, just in time for the winter ski season,” Stuart said.

As visitor numbers scale up, established tourism networks will receive new government support to maximise the opportunities for businesses, workers, and local communities, he said.

The chain of more than 60 i-SITE visitor centres will receive $2.975M new funding, which will be used to upgrade some sites, enhance online services, and “drive better engagement with local history, culture and heritage attractions”.

The national i-SITE visitor network will receive $2.975M new funding.

The i-SITE network was first established more than 30 years ago and each visitor centre is locally owned and operated by travel experts in its community.

The government is also investing a further $1.55M in the tourism trade show TRENZ to “ensure we remain high on the radar of international travel agents and buyers, and deliver on our strategy to protect economic security for workers and businesses”, Stuart said.

Regional Tourism New Zealand, the umbrella body for 31 regional tourism organisations, will also receive funding: $600,000 over two years to ensure the regions have strategically-focused destination management plans in place.

This follows $47M investment in Regional Tourism Operators during the past two years.

The total package of support to tourism networks, worth $5.125M, will be funded from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL). 

New Zealand’s borders will be fully open in mid-winter once new visitor visas are issued from July 31. Visitors from Australia, our largest market, began to return in mid-April, and those from key visa-waiver nations in the Northern Hemisphere have been arriving since May 2.

PHOTOS: Supplied