Reaction: Missing Tourism's marketing mark

Auckland businessman Mark Sainsbury's inbound travel company, Pan Pacific Travel, brought 25,000 foreign travellers to New Zealand last year.

Mr Sainsbury's Budget wish had been for a funding boost for Tourism New Zealand, the Government agency which markets New Zealand internationally as a tourism destination.

As it turned out, the Government has held the agency's funding at last year's level of $55 million.

Mr Sainsbury said the freeze amounted to an effective drop in marketing power because Tourism New Zealand's advertising campaigns were paid for in foreign currency.

The New Zealand dollar has dropped 7.5 per cent against the US dollar during the past year and has fallen against many other currencies.

With visitor arrival numbers into New Zealand at record levels and the industry on a roll, momentum for Tourism New Zealand's successful 100% Pure campaign needed to be maintained, Mr Sainsbury said.

Any boost to the Government's commitment to tourism had downstream benefits to other sectors of the economy.

The tourist trade employs significant numbers of workers, provides considerable small business opportunities. According to one analysis, the industry earns 16 per cent of the country's foreign exchange.

"If the Government wants to back winners, here's a perfect winner," Mr Sainsbury said.

The benefits of a tourist economy are also beginning to be felt across New Zealand smaller towns.

Mr Sainsbury said there was a growing demand from "free and independent travellers" eager to get off the beaten track to experience the country's heartland.

The Government's ongoing support for Tourism New Zealand was also crucial, Mr Sainsbury said, given the major competitors in the international tourism market - countries such as Canada and Australia - spent considerably more on marketing their destinations than did New Zealand.

In a pre-budget announcement on Monday, the Government said it would spend $4 million during the next year to begin assessing and implementing a new tourism strategy which the industry believes could almost treble tourism revenue over the next nine years.

Details of the strategy are still to be fleshed out, but it recommends an expanded role for Tourism New Zealand and the establishment of a stand-alone Ministry of Tourism.

After next year, funding of $2.5 million a year will be devoted to making sure the on going strategy implementation succeeds. In another initiative, the Government announced this week an extra $900,000 would be spent on tourism research and on funding Maori regional tourism organisations.

Mr Sainsbury said while the strategy funding was "bare bones," it was encouraging that the Government was prepared to make a commitment to the strategy.

Yesterday the Government also announced that $15 million would be spent over the next three years assisting regional museums to adequately house collections of national significance.

Prime Minister and Arts Minister Helen Clark said the initiative would have a positive impact on regional economies, increasing tourism and earning more foreign exchange from overseas visitors.

www.nzherald.co.nz/budget

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