The Government is pumping another $13.5 million into international tourism marketing, with the expectation it brings an extra 72,000 visitors to New Zealand.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Tourism Minister Louise Upston are expected to talk to media about the announcement at a 3.30pm press conference at Auckland International Airport.
The money is on top of other investments into marketing announced earlier this year. Those were focused on increasing visitors between now and early 2026, while today鈥檚 announcement is focused on arrivals in the years beyond that.
Upston said today鈥檚 funding 鈥 which comes from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) - will be targeted towards core markets like Australia, the United States and China over the coming years.
鈥淲e know how important marketing is to attract visitors, with around 14% of international holiday visitors directly influenced by Tourism NZ鈥檚 marketing activity,鈥 she said.
It鈥檚 expected to deliver an extra 72,000 international visitors to NZ and generate about $300 million in spending, which the minister said was a 鈥渧ery strong return on investment鈥.
Upston said international visitor numbers continue to climb and this additional investment would help drive economic growth.
鈥淓ncouraging more visitors means more people staying in our hotels, eating in our caf茅s, spending in our shops and visiting our attractions.
鈥淭his creates jobs and drives economic growth. We want people to know New Zealand is open for business and we welcome visitors with open arms.鈥
The minister said this is the first investment from the Government鈥檚 yet-to-be-revealed Tourism Growth Roadmap.
She said it will set out a 鈥渟eries of Government initiatives and investments for the Government and industry to work together to double the value of tourism exports by 2034鈥.
This is in addition to the $13.5 million announced by Upston in April for marketing as well as the 鈥楨veryone Must Go鈥 campaign to get Australians to New Zealand.
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