New GM Tourism and Events

We welcome Mark Frood as our new GM Tourism and Events until June 2023. Mark has extensive international tourism experience and his skills will be especially valuable as borders re-open. Meanwhile, Bobbi Brown has been seconded to be project lead for the Beyond 2025 Southland. That's the long-term planning project for the region, as part of the Southland Just Transition.

Southland showcased as business events destination

At the invitation of Tourism New Zealand, Great South attended (virtually) the Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event this month. Representing both Southland and Fiordland regional tourism organisations (Visit Southland and Visit Fiordland), appointments were held with 43 representatives interested in holding events or incentive travel programmes for their staff in our region.

Bluff to Invercargill trail - official opening

Te Ara Taurapa, the Invercargill to Bluff trail, which froms the start / finish of the Te Araroa Trail, was officially opened last week. Great South was pleased to be able to support the funding of six interpretation trails along the trail, partnering with Environment Southland, Invercargill City Council, Awarua and Waihōpai Rūnaka on the project.

Walking Southland's greats for Ukraine

While many of us will be relaxing with friends and family and eating too much chocolate this Easter, our GM Business Services Development Ben Lewis is going to be walking five of Southland's Great Walks, a whopping 240km, in only eight days. You can support his efforts to raise funds for Ukraine at the link below.

New position created to drive Bluff Motupōhue Tourism Master Plan

Bluff community stalwart Tammi Topi has been contracted by Great South to drive forward grand visions for Motupōhue. Great South facilitated the 2020 Tourism Master Plan with partners Te Rūnaka o Awarua and Invercargill City Council (including the Bluff Community Board), which was released along with an implementation plan in late 2021.

Southland ready to welcome Australian visitors

With borders opening to Australian visitors from 13 April,  the region is well-placed to leverage visitors to the slopes this winter, with digital marketing campaigns targeting that audience already in place. The unexpected early opening of borders is both a relief and an opportunity for local tourism operators. 

Fiordland event coordinator role

We're looking for someone with a passion for Fiordland and expertise in the conference and events area to work from our Te Anau office as an Events Advisor. The role will include allocating the Government's Regional Events Funding. More details at the link below.

Decarbonisation fund - date extension Apply now!

If your business is using LPG, coal or disel for heating, a new contestable fund may help you transition to low emission energy sources. Applications for the Government Waihōpai / Invercargill Decarbonisation Contestable Fund have just been extended to 20 May 2022. Check eligibility criteria and apply now at the link below.

Tourism business funding - up to $50,000 per business

Applications for the Tourism Kick-start Fund are now open. Your business could be eligible for between $10,000 and $50,000!  If you have a tourism business based within the Southland District Council rating area you may be eligible. Business Advisory Support and  Advice Implementation grants are also available to tourism businesses as part of the Government's Tourism Communities: Support, Recover and Re-set Plan. Find out more and apply online below.

eInvoicing - a boost for business

If you're in business, you'll want to know about eInvoicing. It's a new digital approach that makes manual handling, paper and PDFs a thing of the past. It’s now available to all businesses, supported by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.