Sarah Dowie, MP for Invercargill, says the more than $1 million Tourism Growth Partnership funding announced today for two Southland attractions will help boost tourism in the region.
“This is a shot in the arm for our region which saw tourists spend more than $600 million in the past year, up 6 per cent on the previous year,” Ms Dowie said.
“Invercargill’s Classic Motorcycle Mecca, which aims to be New Zealand’s premier commercial motorcycle attraction, gets $550,000. This will be used for the stage two development of a new exhibition space to display all of the 300 bikes and develop interpretation/experiential resources.
“Another $500,000 is earmarked for the Curio Bay Tumu Toka Natural Heritage Visitor Centre. This will help with the development of a world‑class multimedia, interpretive visitor centre in South Catlins.
“The visitor centre will provide a product that captures the special stories of the region, including the ‘Jurassic’ story, wildlife and natural environment. The centre is a year‑round attraction and will act as a hub for other tourism and economic activities.”
“These projects will create new tourism opportunities and more local jobs.
Tourism is experiencing strong growth and is now our biggest export earner, delivering $14.5 billion and around 188,000 jobs to communities around New Zealand.
More than $23 million has been invested in 33 projects since the inception of the Tourism Growth Partnership in 2013.
“The Government will continue to help the sector attract high value visitors to explore regions like Southland year round,” Ms Dowie said.
Tourism is a big part of the SoRDS Southland Regional Development Strategy master plan, to grow the Southland population by 10,000 by 2025