Tourism Bay of Plenty has been allocated about $865,000 to develop a regional event strategy aimed at boosting domestic tourism.
Tourism Minister Stuart Nash detailed the $50 million Regional Events Fund at the start of the month.
The funding will help instigate a wide range of events and activities across the country with the aim of further stimulating domestic tourism in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic last year.
About $2 million dollars of the fund has been allocated to the Pacific Coast Highway marketing alliance including the Western Bay of Plenty Tourism and Visitors Trust, Hawke's Bay Tourism, Trust Tairāwhiti, and Destination Coromandel.
Tourism Bay of Plenty chief executive Kristin Dunne has now confirmed how much of the $2m fund is allocated and how they plan to implement their strategy.
'Tourism Bay of Plenty has been allocated $865,307 from the fund to lead the strategic development of regional events in the Coastal Bay of Plenty,” says Kristin.
'The Regional Events Fund is an important catalyst to improve our region's event capacity and capability and increase domestic visitation and spend. Events provide fantastic incentives for Kiwis to travel, especially during off-peak and shoulder seasons.”
Tourism BOP wants to develop events that engage with the local community and iwi and follow the DNA and whakapapa of the region. Events that will receive funding must promote cultural, social, environmental, and economic well-being.
Tourism in the Bay has taken a hit due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic with no international visitors and cruise ship passenger visitation. Developing an event strategy is seen as a potential way to increase domestic tourism to the area.
'We are relying on the strength of our domestic market and it is vital to our economy,” Kristin says.
'We love seeing Kiwis exploring their backyard and supporting local businesses while we have Aotearoa all to ourselves.”
Tourism BOP plans to use a phased approach with the funding roll-out, focusing on developing and researching regional event strategies and regional events portals in this financial year. Funding will then be applied to supporting events that meet strategy needs over the following four years.