Go with Tourism initiative to receive $2 million investment
New funding aims to ease life for hard-pressed employers as international visitation continues to grow
The NZ Government has announced it will invest $2 million to support Go with Tourism, an initiative that connects jobseekers with employers, to help address the workforce shortage in the country’s tourism sector industry and accelerate economic recovery.
Tourism Minister, Stuart Nash said tourism operators had been hit particularly hard by COVID-19 but visitor data shows that the recovery is well underway.
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“With our borders fully open, we’re expecting to see far more international visitors on our shores than the previous two summers, which also enables a quicker economic recovery,” Mr Nash said.
“This increase in visitors will put extra pressure on tourism and hospitality workers to deliver a world-class experience, so today’s extra funding to Go with Tourism is one of many ways our Government is supporting the sector through this time.
“Through expos, education, and free tools for job searching, the initiative has successfully brought a better awareness of a career in tourism to thousands of jobseekers across the country.
“Like any industry, success depends on those working within it. This means investing in our people and deepening the talent pool. This investment will be vital in building the tourism workforce back up, and is the latest addition to a suite of measures our Government has introduced to support the tourism sector over the past two years.
This support includes the $400m Tourism Recovery Package, the $200m Tourism Communities Plan, and the $54m Innovation Program for Tourism Recovery.
“This funding went to tourism operators most affected by the border closure, and has helped them to gear up for the return of international visitors,” Mr Nash said.
Launched in Auckland in 2019, Go with Tourism is a Government-supported initiative taking a unique approach to addressing labour supply issues via career expos and secondary-school education programs across the country promoting careers in the industry.
This year the initiative has held seven expos in Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Napier and Auckland attracting – which attracted a record 28,667 visitors, in the process beating the previous record of 16,500 visitors in 2021.
Mike Parker-Brown is a UK-trained and qualified journalist and an award-winning travel communicator with more than 30 years experience.
Since 2002, Mike has worked as a freelance writer and PR consultant providing his services to major organisations in Australia and internationally in the tourism, aviation, hospitality, recruitment and export marketing sectors.
