Cable car above Rotorua lake and city.
Photo: 123RF
The Tourism Minister has signalled significant change could be on the horizon for the industry.
Louise Upston has set her sights on doubling the value of tourism exports by 2034, growing the number of Kiwis working in tourism and hospitality, and restoring international visitor arrivals to at least 2019 levels.
In June, she unveiled how the government plans to hit that target, but more details for the medium and long term picture were yet to be revealed.
The targets were ambitious, but she said the industry had pulled together this year.
“It’s getting the balance of continuing to push for visitors to choose New Zealand and then helping them throughout New Zealand where there is still strong capacity and options,” she said.
The industry had been pushing for bold change, and a working group had considered what that change was and how they planned to get there, she said.
Tourism Minister Louise Upston.
Photo: MARIKA KHABAZI / RNZ
Upston planned to review advice and proposals from officials about the next steps in the roadmap in January.
“Some of it is potentially quite significant change so I would be looking at probably taking something to Cabinet towards the end of quarter one or the beginning of quarter two,” she said.
The government was aiming to see international visitor arrivals reach at least 3.89 million by 2026.
Recent figures showed overseas arrivals hit 3.43 million in the year to September.
“We’ve got momentum, we’ve made significant investments, we are measuring the impact and I’m confident that we will achieve those visitor growth numbers by the end of next year,” Upston said.
That investment – which was often funded by the International Visitor Levy – included a $70 million major events and tourism package and more than $26m for Tourism New Zealand to attract more visitors.
She was confident that [https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/557448/how-do-queenstown-residents-feel-about-increasing-tourism-and-its-impact
concerns from areas like Queenstown], where visitors numbers had already surpassed 2019 levels, were being addressed by mahi underway and planned in the Tourism Growth Roadmap.
Queenstown.
Photo: RNZ / Kymberlee Gomes
She wanted to make sure every ounce of value was squeezed from investments in the industry as well as having consistent and predictable funding, Upston said.
Another priority was attracting more New Zealanders into hospitality and tourism by making sure they could see a career pathway and had ongoing training opportunities as a solid workforce would be a “critical part” in the success of tourism growth, Upston said.
In November, the government announced funding for a new industry-led qualification, Te Haeata, to boost the business events workforce.
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