The Regional Events Fund ($47.75 million) is designed to stimulate domestic tourism and travel between regions through holding events. This is intended to support the tourism and events sector and replace some of the spend from international tourists as a result of COVID-19.
The fund is available to the nine International Marketing Alliance (IMA) groupings of the Regional Tourism Organisations (RTO’s). The Canterbury & West Coast IMA (Christchurch, Timaru, Mackenzie, Hurunui, West Coast and Kaikōura) have been allocated $7 million over a 2-4-year timeframe.
The purpose of the Regional Events Fund (REF) is to stimulate inter and intra-regional visitation through funding events that will encourage expenditure missed by international visitor markets.
The Mackenzie Regional Event fund is a twice-yearly contestable fund.
Refer to the following timeline for 2022 funding round. Applications for event funding will only be considered during the April funding round.
APPLICATION WINDOW OPEN | OUTCOME COMMUNICATED | EVENT DATES | STATUS |
---|---|---|---|
4 October 2021 – 1 November 2021 | Mid December 2021 | 1 February 2022 – 1 August 2022 | Closed |
1 April 2022 – 1 May 2022 | Mid June 2022 | 1 July 2022 – 30 June 2023 |
Applicants can register expressions of interest all year round. Applicant support is provided as appropriate, via the Mackenzie Event Development office
Applications for funding will be assessed by the Mackenzie Regional Event Fund Independent Panel (MREFIP). Events will undergo a due diligence assessment prior to any referral to the Mackenzie Regional Events Fund Investment Panel (MREFIP). The MREFIP is made up of representatives from within the Mackenzie region and includes an independent member with event industry knowledge from outside of the region. This panel will recommend the allocation of the funds and then all investment recommendations are reviewed by ChristchurchNZ for final approval and contracting.
Once funding has been approved, all successful applicants will receive a funding agreement. This is a formal contract which outlines what is expected of event organisers and the amount of funding the MREFIP is granting. The funding agreement will also outline the post-event reporting requirements for event organisers.
An agreed percentage of funding will be available at the time of confirmation of funding. The final percentage will be paid within two weeks of completion of the event post-event criteria