In 2019, the New Zealand-Aotearoa Government Tourism Strategy was released. The Strategy sets out a stewardship role for the government in tourism to ensure tourism enriches New Zealand through more productive, sustainable and inclusive growth. Priority actions for delivering this include co‑ordination across the tourism system, developing long-term sustainable funding mechanisms, facilitating destination management and planning, and better data and insight.
In 2020‑21, New Zealand provided a range of support to the tourism sector to enable its eventual recovery from the pandemic. In 2020, immediate support came from economy-wide support measures, including NZD 1.8 billion through a Wage Subsidy scheme and NZD 285 million through a Small Business Cash Flow scheme. An NZD 400 million Tourism Recovery Package was also provided, which funded initiatives including a Strategic Tourism Assets Protection programme.
In 2021, an NZD 200 million Tourism Communities: Support, Recovery and Reset Plan invested in new programmes such as psycho-social support and wellbeing services, small business support, tourism infrastructure, the conservation estate, and Māori development. The plan focused on five communities with a high dependence on international tourism in their local economies while advancing a nationwide re-set.
New Zealand has taken the COVID‑19 pandemic as an opportunity to accelerate work streams that focus on transforming the tourism industry into a regenerative model. The focus is shifting from survival and recovery to supporting the tourism industry to reflect the new model. The Minister of Tourism has announced four key principles that will guide the recovery and transformation of New Zealand’s tourism sector. These are: i) elevate ‘Brand New Zealand’ so international travellers see New Zealand as a leading aspirational destination, ii) rebuild tourism on a sustainable and regenerative model (see Box 3.10), iii) ensure that tourism’s costs and negative impacts are mitigated or priced into the visitor experience, and iv) establish partnerships between the government and industry.
In 2021, the Minister of Tourism announced reforms to freedom camping laws to improve the sustainability of freedom camping, protect the environment, and ensure local communities support the hosting of freedom campers. Increasing numbers of freedom campers have placed burdens on the natural environment and some communities in New Zealand. A Freedom Camping Bill is currently being considered by the House of Representatives.
In 2022, the Minister of Tourism announced an NZD 54 million Innovation Programme for Tourism Recovery. As New Zealand welcomes international visitors, there is a need to look to the future and innovate. The programme is designed to help stimulate a shift towards a regenerative, low-carbon, productive, and innovative tourism sector. The programme is targeted at transformative initiatives that deliver on climate, environmental sustainability and technology outcomes, improve the sector’s resilience, or promote and protect things of social and cultural value to Māori across the visitor journey. A Tourism Data Co‑Governance Group was appointed in 2022. The group is to provide leadership on the collection, dissemination and understanding of tourism data and recommend needs for future investment in tourism data. Representatives from industry and government previously agreed that a co‑governed data system would create value for users of tourism data.
Work on the Tourism Industry Transformation Plan (ITP), which has the overarching objective of establishing a regenerative tourism model, is underway (see box below). The ITP is created in a partnership between the government, tourism industry, Māori, unions and workers. The first phase focuses on Better Work, addressing some of the workforce challenges in tourism. The second phase will focus on the environment.
