Regional Tourism Boost (Round 2)
The Regional Tourism Boost (Round 2) is a contestable fund which provides $10 million to support regions to attract more international visitors to travel, stay and dine in New Zealand in the first half of 2026.
On this page
About the fund
Regional Tourism Boost (Round 2) builds on the previous Regional Tourism Boost (Round 1) which ran from February to March 2025 to attract international visitors and encourage their dispersal across New Zealand. More information about Regional Tourism Boost (Round 1) can be found here:
Regional Tourism Boost Fund (Round 1)
Regional Tourism Boost (Round 2) regional campaigns will showcase great value, time-limited discounts on air travel, accommodation, tourism and visitor attractions alongside the promotion of hospitality experiences.
Regional Tourism Boost (Round 2) will be implemented in 2 stages:
- Stage 1: ‘ready-to-go’ tourism and hospitality packages for the priority early 2026 traveller group. Visitors must arrive between 1 January 2026 until 31 March 2026, including the Lunar New Year period.
- Stage 2: longer term, staggered tourism and hospitality packages that stimulate demand throughout the off-peak tourism season. Visitors must arrive between 1 April 2026 until 30 June 2026.
Successful proposals can build on existing activities or deliver new activities.
Who can apply
Regional Tourism Boost (Round 2) is open to groups of collaborating organisations led by a Regional Tourism Organisation or Associate Regional Tourism Organisation (RTO). The lead RTO will submit the application, be the contracted party, and be responsible for the delivery of the project.
Groups must include:
- a minimum of 2 RTOs (including the lead RTO)
- an airline partner and/or travel provider/platform
- multiple accommodation providers and tourism and hospitality operators.
There are no restrictions on what other kinds of organisations can join an application group (e.g., businesses, Māori tourism organisations, airports, councils, iwi organisations or charities).
If you're not an RTO but want to be part of a regional campaign, contact your local or nearest RTO.
Regional Tourism Organisations(external link) — Regional Tourism New Zealand
Eligibility criteria
Applications must:
- be led by an RTO, who will be the contracted party for this funding and be responsible for delivery of the project
- include at least 2 member RTOs in the application group
- include an airline partner and/or a travel provider/platform
- include multiple accommodation providers and tourism and hospitality operators
- deliver all funded activities by:
- Stage 1: 31 March 2026 (visitors arriving from 1 January 2026 until 31 March 2026, including the Lunar New Year period)
- Stage 2: 30 June 2026 (visitors arriving from 1 April 2026 until 30 June 2026).
- demonstrate how the promotional activity will attract international visitors to travel, stay and dine in New Zealand from early 2026 (either by enhancing existing activities or delivering new activities)
- demonstrate how the promotional activity will be evaluated (including the uptake and impact of the funded activities) within 30 days of the end of the promotional period.
Assessment criteria
Applications will be considered by an independent panel with expertise in tourism promotion.
Priority will be given to those applications that can demonstrate:
- The ability to increase international visitor numbers, particularly the early 2026 traveller group.
- High levels of collaboration between stakeholders,
- The ability to increase regional dispersal of international visitors and tourism and hospitality spend.
- A robust measure of the impact of the effectiveness of the activities, ideally in terms of visitor numbers and/or visitor spend,
- Regions have the capacity to host the additional international visitors.
- Alignment with other RTO-led applications regarding target markets and campaign timings.
- Alignment with Tourism New Zealand’s marketing advice.
- Leverage private sector investment.
Each of the above criteria will be scored up to a maximum of 3 points.
A moderation process will be included in the assessment process for the assessment panel to reach agreement on the recommendations. This may mean lower scoring projects are ranked more highly.
How to apply
Applications open 17 September 2025.
Closing dates:
- Stage 1: 5pm 10 October 2025.
- Stage 2: 5pm 31 October 2025.
Additional information to help you with your application can be found in the full guidance document.
Lead RTOs should complete the application form provided and email the completed application to regionalevents@mbie.govt.nz
Regional Tourism Boost – Round 2 Application Form [DOCX 1.3MB]
Contact
If you have any questions about the fund, contact us at regionalevents@mbie.govt.nz