Tourism Communities Initiatives

Targeted government support is available to tourism businesses in five communities most affected by the loss of international tourism.

They are:  

• Mackenzie District
• Kaikōura District
• Queenstown Lakes District
• Southland District
• Westland District 

ChristchurchNZ is the Lead Entity for delivery of the below business support initiatives in Mackenzie and Kaikōura Districts.

Impacted businesses in these areas are able to access any, or all, of the following three initiatives (subject to eligibility criteria):

• Business Advisory Support grants of up to $5,000 per businesses to enable access to expert advice and support such as changing target market or scaling their business.
• Advice Implementation grant of up to $5,000 per business to implement business advice.
• Tourism Kick-Start Fund to contribute towards existing tourism businesses scaling back up for the return of international visitors. This will be calculated based on two weeks of pre-COVID-19 revenue set at two weeks of annual revenue for 2019/20 financial year.

For full information and eligibility criteria please see the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment website.

Applications for the Business Advisory Support and Advice Implementation Grant can be accepted now. Further information on the Tourism Kick-Start Fund will be provided once we are closer to reconnecting borders.

• Tourism businesses can access funding through all three of these initiatives, as they are related, but not dependent on each other.
• Each initiative provides one grant per business operation.
• The business operation must be physically based within at least one of the five districts. For example, Inbound Tour Operators and transport providers that are based outside of the district, but operate within at least one of the districts, would not be eligible.

Businesses based in Mackenzie and Kaikōura Districts are able to apply for this support through ChristchurchNZ. To apply:

1. Register for the Regional Business Partner (RBP) Network here (you will need your NZBN). If you are already registered with the RBP Network then please email enquiry@christchurchnz.com and refer to the Tourism Communities Initiatives. 
2. You will then receive an email with a link to complete an online form. Please select the Tourism Communities Initiatives option and complete the form electronically. Please allow 30 minutes to complete the online form, and make sure you click submit at the end. Please note that you will need your NZBN, GST number and bank account details to complete the form.