The Government's Major Events Boost Fund will have a strong impact for the Taranaki region ahead of its peak events season.
Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki has welcomed the announcement that two of the region’s iconic events, the TSB Festival of Lights and TAFT’s WinterFest, have secured funding through the Government’s NZD 10million Events Boost Fund.
Administered by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), the Events Boost Fund is part of the Government’s NZD 70 million Major Events and Tourism Package, supporting event organisers to promote to international markets, to help attract new audiences and encourage visitors to extend their stay.
TSB Festival of Lights is organised and delivered by New Plymouth District Council (NPDC) while the Taranaki Arts Festival Trust (TAFT), run WinterFest and are among the first tranche of national events listed to receive funding.
New Plymouth District Mayor Max Brough welcomes the funding injection, which highlights the value of strong partnerships between central and local government and the region’s event and destination organisations.
"These events play a vital role in showcasing Taranaki on both the national and international stage, but the challenge for organisers is how to continue to grow and develop them with limited budgets and resources.
"Both these events bring a lot of people to our district and contribute significantly to the local economy, so this funding will help support continued growth, visitation and strengthen our local economy."
Janet Reynolds, GM Destination at Te Puna Umanga Venture Taranaki, said the funding reinforces the economic power of major events.
"Major events are proven economic drivers. They fill beds, fill tables, and generate spend across our visitor economy and beyond as eventgoers stay to explore everything Taranaki has to see, do, eat, and experience."
"Winter Fest will light up the quieter months and give people a compelling reason to visit Taranaki in winter,” said Suzanne Porter, CEO of Taranaki Arts Festival Trust.
“This support enables us to extend our promotional reach into new markets, elevate the visitor experience and deliver strong returns for the region’s hospitality, retail and accommodation sectors."
Janet Reynolds said Venture Taranaki looks forward to working alongside NPDC and TAFT to ensure these events reach out-of-region audiences and to showcase the creative and vibrant energy of the region.
"This investment will accelerate and strengthen the activity we’re already delivering in market. Australia remains a key growth audience for us, and aligning event marketing with our broader destination activity will build brand awareness and regional positioning of Taranaki as a ‘like no other’ destination to high-value Australian audiences."
It also complements Venture Taranaki's wider regional promotion activity, including strategic media partnerships, targeted digital campaigns and offshore trade engagement, as well as the new One Flight campaign, delivered in partnership with Hamilton & Waikato Tourism, Love Taupō, and Visit Ruapehu, which leverages improved air connectivity to drive Australian arrivals into the central North Island and encourage regional dispersal into destinations such as Taranaki.
More news here.
