The Auditor-General has announced an inquiry into a controversial tourism fund to ensure public confidence is not eroded.
Among businesses to receive funding from Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Programme were AJ Hackett Bungy, Discover Waitomo and Whale Watch Kaikōura.
Photo: YouTube / AJ Hackett
The Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Programme is part of the government s $400 million Covid-19 tourism recovery fund.
Auditor-General John Ryan said the investigation will examine the eligibility criteria, how applications were assessed and inconsistencies in the process.
The programme has come under increased scrutiny with concerns raised by tourism operators over the transparency and clarity of the programme.
According to the Department of Conservation, visitor numbers to Milford Sound in September and October 2020 had dropped 72 per cent from the year before. As the “gateway to Milford”, the Fiordland tourism sector had traditionally relied heavily on international tourists and while Kiwis had answered the call to back their backyards, there simply weren’t enough to fill the void. Now that summer was drawing to a close and Kiwis were going back to work, the situation was dire, Adams said. “Te Anau has fallen off the cliff in the last week,” he said. While some businesses were operating at 20 to 60 per cent less than usual over Christmas, Adams said that had dropped to an 85 to 90 per cent drop in revenue in the past week.