Tourism and Regional Economic Development Minister Stuart Nash will visit Te Anau next week.

The trip was confirmed yesterday (March 9) by a spokesperson for Mr Nash. It is understood the visit is at the invitation of the Rotary Club of Fiordland and Mr Nash will be guest speaker at its Te Anau meeting.

The minister’s spokesperson said the visit will incorporate a wider two-day visit to Southland and Central Otago and Mr Nash intends to visit Te Anau, Invercargill, Queenstown, Arrowtown and Cromwell, once the itinerary is confirmed.

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No announcements are expected, instead he wants to talk to people on the ground about how the community is dealing with the impact of a closed border, the spokesperson said.

“Mr Nash wants to hear firsthand about the state of the local economy, jobs and businesses. The programme is likely to include meetings with local councils and mayors, iwi, small businesses, local employers, the Department of Conservation and community groups.

“He also hopes to discuss the rollout of government investment in tourism and economic development projects as part of the COVID response.”

Under the Tourism Recovery Package, 11 tourism businesses in Fiordland, Stewart Island and Invercargill received $5.5million in cash grants, as well as concessionary loan offers that are interest-free and don’t require repayments for the first two years.

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In addition, destination-marketing agencies received $1.95 million to promote tourism and events in Southland and Fiordland.

“As Regional Economic Development Minister, he also has an interest in infrastructure projects that are underway. Approximately 47 Southland projects have received $90 million from the Provincial Development Unit (MBIE).”

These include big-ticket items, like:

• $22 million for the Milford Highway Fibre Connection
• $19.5 million for an inner-city regeneration project in Invercargill
• $8 million for a salmon hatchery at Bluff
• $1.9 million in forestry grants 
• $500,000 for Invercargill airport terminal development

There are also a number of smaller projects under $0.5 million that nevertheless are important for community resilience and local pride, like restoration of community halls, war memorials, marae and churches.