WELLINGTON, May 6 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's Minister of Tourism Stuart Nash outlined a plan to ensure the immediate survival and long-term transformation of the tourism sector on Thursday.
Nash told the industry's annual TRENZ conference that an all-of-government plan will support the recovery of tourism communities after the impacts of COVID-19, and rebuild tourism on a more sustainable foundation for the future.
"The economic impact of the loss of international visitors is felt beyond the tourism workforce and businesses," Nash said.
"At the same time, reviews by agencies like the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, the Climate Change Commission, and the Tourism Futures Taskforce have highlighted transformation is required to rebuild tourism for the future," he said.
About 200 million New Zealand dollars (144 million U.S. dollars) will be rolled out to support, recover and re-set the tourism communities between now and 2023, the minister said, adding it will invest in new programs like small business support, tourism infrastructure, the conservation estate, Maori development, economic and regional development, and mental wellbeing support. Enditem