New Zealand-Aotearoa Government Tourism Strategy

The New Zealand-Aotearoa Government Tourism Strategy is more important than ever as we welcome visitors back to New Zealand. The Strategy sets out a more deliberate and active role for government in tourism.

About The Strategy

The COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted tourism in New Zealand. The New Zealand-Aotearoa Government Tourism Strategy sets out a more deliberate and active role for government in tourism. We want to make sure that the many benefits from tourism are realised, while managing the impacts. The Government works as a steward, looking across the system to make sure it is working effectively and as an actor through investments and interventions.

Cabinet Paper – Report back on New Zealand-Aotearoa Tourism Strategy consultation [PDF, 3.3 MB]

The government wants tourism growth to be productive, sustainable and inclusive. Our goals are:

  • Tourism supports thriving and sustainable regions
  • Tourism sector productivity improves
  • New Zealand-Aotearoa delivers exceptional visitor experiences
  • Tourism protects, restores and champions New Zealand-Aotearoa’s natural environment, culture and historic heritage
  • New Zealanders’ lives are improved by tourism
Tourism Strategy

Implementing the Tourism Strategy

The outcomes we want to achieve sit under five broad themes. We have set out a plan for each of the areas to make sure we’re able to put the Tourism Strategy into action. They are:

We have developed a work programme and actions across the five outcomes. We have also prioritised four top actions for the government that will deliver across multiple outcomes. The top priority actions for the Government’s stewardship role that will deliver across multiple outcomes are:

The top priority actions for the Government’s stewardship role that will deliver across multiple outcomes are:

  • Coordination across the tourism system
  • Long-term sustainable funding mechanisms
  • Destination management and planning
  • Better data and insights

What people had to say

To make sure we got the Tourism Strategy right, we ran a public consultation over summer 18/19.

Over 250 people provided feedback. Several recurring themes centred on delivering the benefits of tourism for New Zealand and New Zealanders and helped in framing the final Strategy.

Last updated: 12 April 2022