Southland events fund exhausted, two more rounds for Fiordland

More than $550,000 has been distributed to events in Fiordland and Southland since April this year from the government’s Regional Event funds administered by Great South .

A total of $180,000 has been distributed to 16 events in Southland and $359,500 distributed to 16 events in Fiordland, across two funding rounds.

The Southland fund is now exhausted, while there is $200,500 still available for events based in Fiordland.

There will be two more rounds for Fiordland events, the first closing 25 February, and the second on 26 August.

The fund was established by the government as part of its post COVID-19 Tourism Recovery package, to stimulate domestic tourism by supporting existing events or helping grow new events.

Great South GM Tourism and Events Bobbi Brown said it was pleasing to see some new applicants and some fresh thinking about attracting visitors to the region this round, as well as some bigger sporting events and conferences that would lure large numbers of visitors south.

Among the successful applicants for events in Southland were the Matariki Festival and the NZ Junior Motocross Championships.

Local events Hop’n’Vine and the Kepler Challenge and Luxmore Grunt were among the successful Fiordland events along with the Spirited Women adventure race in October 2022 and the NZ Rodeo Nationals in March 2023, that are each expected to attract more than 3000 visitors.

“Events like these will provide a much-needed boost to the Fiordland community.”

Independent investment panels assess applications for each fund. Four applications were declined in this latest round across the two funds.

Anyone with ideas for events in Fiordland should get in touch now, Mrs Brown said.

Successful Applicants:

Fiordland Regional Events Fund:

Mitre 10 Te Anau 10km 

IMSANZ Conference 2022

Hop'n'Vine Te Anau

Men’s Muster Fiordland

Savour the South

Te Anau Tartan Festival

Kepler Challenge & Luxmore Grunt

New Zealand Rodeo Cowboys Association National Finals Rodeo 

Spirited Women - All Women’s Adventure Race

Southland Regional Events Fund:

Matariki Festival 

National Council of Women Conference

New Zealand Junior Motocross Nationals

NZ Gymnastics Championships 

Burt Munro Challenge 

Kids Racing E-Sports Event 

Bluff Seafood and Oyster Festival

Cycling New Zealand Secondary Schools National Mountain Bike Championships 

Burning Horse Festival 

NZ Power Boat Association Annual Conference 

New Zealand Leisure Marching 

South Island Colgate Games