Minister of Tourism Stuart Nash and Associate Minister of Tourism Peeni Henare announced the sixth round of recipients
of the Government’s Tourism Infrastructure Fund (TIF), which supports local government to address tourism infrastructure
needs.
This TIF round will invest $15 million into projects around the country. For the first time, TIF criteria considered
infrastructure to support the delivery and management of Matariki events.
“I want to congratulate all of the successful applicants in this round of funding. The TIF plays a key role in helping
to support infrastructure that many small towns and districts cannot afford by themselves. Since 2017, the TIF has
supported more than 200 projects totalling $91.3 million, which have improved the quality of tourism infrastructure for
residents and visitors alike,” Stuart Nash said.
“This year marks a new era in New Zealand with the first celebration of Matariki as a public holiday, after our
Government passed legislation last year. I want to highlight a few of the successful TIF projects that support Matariki
celebrations across our country, which will help Kiwis discover different ways of celebrating our newest public holiday.
“Residents and visitors to Waihi Beach can look forward to new stargazing platforms, which will link together a popular
walking trail. The platforms will include a Matariki star compass and cultural information about the site.
“In Rotorua, the Te Tākinga Marae has been awarded funding to upgrade their facilities to include Matariki
infrastructure – a viewing platform, signage, enhanced walkways, a new public toilet facility, and a Matariki-inspired
Waharoa entranceway to the marae complex. This is a great way to get the community and visitors engaged with Matariki
celebrations.
“I look forward to visiting all the different Matariki TIF projects that take advantage of the exceptionally pure night
sky we have in New Zealand,” Stuart Nash said.
“To be able to fund some projects through the TIF that embrace Matariki is fantastic and will only further many New
Zealanders journeys of discovery into Te Ao Māori world. Our hope is that the sowing of these seeds will play a big part
in many future Matariki celebrations and inspire other communities to apply for TIF funding themselves,” Peeni Henare
said.
Also lighting up the sky on Friday are the first Matariki events that received funding through the Creative and Cultural
Events Incubator Fund, a subset initiative of the Major Events Fund from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and
Employment. These events include:Tīrama Mai (Christchurch)Matariki Mackenzie (Mackenzie District)Feast Matariki (Various regions across Te Waipounamu)
Stuart Nash and Peeni Henare will both be attending the Matariki Mackenzie celebrations on Friday.More information about the Tourism Infrastructure Fund can be found here, for information about the Creative and Cultural Events Incubator Fund see here.Full list of Tourism Infrastructure Fund Round Six Recipients can be found here