New factories, turrets, distribution blocks, support structures, etc A new, separate (but incomplete) campaign on the planet Erekir with its own mechanics. It would take too long to list all the changes and additions in this build, but here are the highlights: Patterson said there was also no point in the Government giving money to a business that had little unique intellectual property, and could easily be restarted by someone else down the track if it failed or opted to close.This is a massive update that brings with it an entirely new planet - Erekir - with a completely new tech tree. “Even if an asset is deemed critical, that still doesn’t mean it should be funded.” “With flights expected to cost more, we may have less mass volume, youth tourism coming to the country, and in its place, a more discerning type of traveller. To be eligible, businesses had to be considered crucial for attracting overseas visitors.īut Patterson said the pandemic could well lead to significant changes in the type of tourists coming here, and what they wanted to do, and the eligibility criteria should have considered that. “We couldn’t keep tourism businesses operating at pre-Covid levels until the borders reopened, that’s just unsustainable and also unfair on other industries that are also doing it tough.”Įconomist Benje Patterson said although the asset protection programme had honourable intentions, it was fraught from the start.
The $400m budget rescue package for tourism has now been fully allocated and Davis made it clear further wage subsidies for the sector were off the table. The Dark Sky Project in Tekapo has received assistance from the strategic tourism assets programme.
“This about keeping the business open and keeping staff employed until things pick up.” When asked why, Davis said things had changed considerably in recent weeks, especially in relation to the likelihood of a trans-Tasman bubble, and they wanted to help as many businesses as possible. However, the latest funding round has capped all grants at $500,000 and applications were topped up with low-interest loans. Publicly listed Tourism Holdings received $4m for its Waitomo Caves operation, and Kaikoura Whale Watch $1.5m. Previous grants have attracted criticism, particularly the decision to provide a $5.1m grant to AJ Hackett Bungy New Zealand, and a loan of a similar amount. “I don't know how we’d do that without funding, technology is expensive.” It was among 18 Māori tourism operators to receive assistance including Ko Tāne in Christchurch, Whakarewarewa Living Māori Village, and several of Ngāi Tahu Tourism’s South Island businesses.įounder Wetini Mitai said the grant would help it retain its 80 staff and look at ways of using new technology, such as holograms, as it redesigned its experience to attract domestic visitors.
Others were the Otorohanga Kiwi House, the Oamaru Penguin Colony and the National Kiwi Hatchery. The council felt it was in a good position to offer support and guidance to officials and the Government, but felt it had hit “a brick wall”, she said.ĭunedin’s Monarch Wildlife Cruises and Tours is among the wildlife attractions to receive funding. Keene said in a letter to members that “words cannot express the immense disappointment” she and the council’s board felt on their behalf. “We are confused why this decision to offer loans instead of grants has been made.” Inbound tourism operators were led to believe they would be eligible to receive grants, she said. Keene said the funding decision was “completely unexpected”. “It doesn’t make sense to cut off strategic assets that can reignite New Zealand’s economy with $9.5b as soon as the border opens.” They had already cut their staffing by about 80 per cent to “the bare bones” and unskilled workers could not come in and be effective, she said. “Most of the operators have been there for years and the real ’IP’ is the relationships they have offshore with wholesale tour agents,” she said. A lot of that is because of the reservations system they operate and their language skills. “Inbound tourism operators have highly qualified and experienced staff.
Keene said she was not sure why they had grants refused, or if they were being cut loose by the Government because of the uncertainties they faced about reopening.īut she said it would be wrong to assume that inbound tourism operators could be allowed to fail or go moribund in the expectation they could easily get off the ground again once borders reopened. Encounter Kaikoura will now resume daily tours to view dolphins, albatross and other seabirds thanks to being classed as a key tourism business.