Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle

Tourism Minister Stuart Nash announces funding for Whanganui & Partners, Visit Ruapehu

Whanganui Chronicle
16 Aug, 2021 11:30 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Visit Ruapehu supports local operators to improve their presence online. Photo / Visit Ruapehu

Visit Ruapehu supports local operators to improve their presence online. Photo / Visit Ruapehu

Whanganui and Ruapehu tourism organisations hope an injection of Government money will help continue a surge in domestic tourism seen around regional New Zealand in the last year.

Tourism Minister Stuart Nash announced today that Whanganui & Partners and Visit Ruapehu would each receive $700,000 to continue promoting the two districts.

Last year Whanganui & Partners invested in advertising to encourage people in the bigger cities to visit Whanganui and it worked, with domestic tourist numbers to the city increasing.

The new funding would mean the organisation could continue luring in the big city visitors, Whanganui & Partners said in a statement.

"The Government's decision to support our region shows the progress we've made has been impactful and recognises the value of our growth in the long term," Whanganui & Partners marketing strategic lead Jonathan Sykes said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"This plan explicitly recognises that our region is worth investing in and has much to offer the tourism sector."

Sykes said Whanganui's success had been used an example by the Government when it outlined the funding details to Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs).

Whanganui & Partners said the minister had indicated use of the funding would follow a "high-trust model" and could be applied much like 2020's Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Programme (STAPP) funding was.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The minister expected more focus on working with iwi and communities as well as "destination management".

The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) defined destination management as including the perspectives of visitors, iwi, tourism industry, wider business, local residents as well as local and central government when thinking about a visitor's experience.

Visit Ruapehu said transaction data showed there had been a significant increase in domestic spending for the year ending June 2021.

That meant more people were coming to Ruapehu as a year-round destination, instead of just during the skiing season.

Discover more

Kahu

Home is where the heart is for Lou Walker

14 Aug 05:00 PM

Let's go for three in a row! Whanganui up for Most Beautiful City Award

16 Aug 03:05 AM
Kahu

Storytelling to rebrand River Road tourism route

10 Aug 01:40 AM

What is driving Whanganui's tourism boom?

12 Mar 04:00 PM

"The new tourism world will not replicate the old, that has become even more apparent over the last year," Visit Ruapehu general manager Jo Kennedy said.

She was thrilled with the new round of funding.

"This new round of funding will enable us to increase our efforts in the destination management space," she said.

Her organisation had already supported local operators to improve their presence online and also helped them access funding and business support schemes thanks to STAPP funding.

The funding for Whanganui & Partners and Visit Ruapehu is part of a $26 million rollout to 31 RTOs around the country.

"Domestic tourism is experiencing a boom as Kiwis take the opportunity to 'do something new' and see more of their own backyard," Nash said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He said the RTOs were working hard "behind the scenes" to make tourism more sustainable and for more collaboration among people and groups involved in the industry.

The amounts given out ranged from $400,000 to $1.5m.

"This is a significant investment," Nash said.

"It allows the RTOs to enhance destination management plans, build industry skills and capability, develop new products and ideas to attract visitors, promote sustainable tourism, and roll out marketing."

To be eligible for investment, RTOs need a commitment of funding from local government, among other criteria, and funding is allocated based on the size of the RTO.

Whanganui & Partners and Visit Ruapehu were considered medium-tier organisations.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

In addition to the funding for the 31 RTOs, the umbrella body Regional Tourism New Zealand will receive $200,000 to provide support and help build capability within RTOs across New Zealand.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

Whanganui Chronicle

RSA 'alive and well' despite premises closure

11 Jul 06:00 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

‘Everyone went silent’: Whanganui Youth MP speaks in Parliament

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Whanganui Chronicle

Major Joanna Margaret Paul exhibition opens

11 Jul 05:00 PM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Whanganui Chronicle

RSA 'alive and well' despite premises closure

RSA 'alive and well' despite premises closure

11 Jul 06:00 PM

Former members are 'more than welcome' to return, RSA Welfare Trust president says.

‘Everyone went silent’: Whanganui Youth MP speaks in Parliament

‘Everyone went silent’: Whanganui Youth MP speaks in Parliament

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Shelley Loader: How we can all get a share of the apples

Shelley Loader: How we can all get a share of the apples

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Major Joanna Margaret Paul exhibition opens

Major Joanna Margaret Paul exhibition opens

11 Jul 05:00 PM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP