More than half of the 100,000 Explore Tāmaki Makaurau Vouchers have now been used by Aucklanders to book and enjoy a range of local activities and attractions in the Auckland region.
Today, a further 50,000 vouchers are being allocated to registered Aucklanders, to receive a $50 or $100 voucher to book a tourism experience.
More than 100 activity and attraction businesses in Auckland have already benefitted from the voucher programme, with a total of $4 million worth of vouchers used so far. The $9 million Government-funded programme is being delivered by Auckland’s economic and cultural agency Auckland Unlimited.
Participating businesses include major attractions such as the Sky Tower, Rainbow’s End, SEA LIFE Kelly Tarlton’s, MOTAT, Snowplanet and Auckland Zoo, as well as ten pin bowling, escape rooms, mini putt, go karting, ice skating, guided tours, sailing, equipment rental and ferry services such as Kawau Island Super Cruise.
"The feedback we’re getting from operators and locals has been really rewarding," says Auckland Unlimited’s director of investment and industry Pam Ford.
"It has stimulated bookings with activity and attraction businesses – bookings they wouldn’t have got otherwise. It has seen Aucklanders get out and safely enjoy experiences they perhaps wouldn’t have while we’ve been in Red Setting.
"Considering what Auckland has dealt with over the last two years with five lockdowns and the impact of all this on business revenue and Aucklanders’ ability to get out and about, we are really happy with the impact this programme has had so far," says Pam.
Successful voucher recipients are notified by email and those registered are encouraged to check email and spam folders for the notification.
While voucher recipients have just 14 days to use the voucher to book an experience, the booking window has been extended to June 30, 2022 – from April 30, 2022 – to allow greater flexibility for customers and businesses to manage bookings impacted by COVID-19.
So far, 56,900 vouchers have been used to book experiences, and vouchers from previous draws that were not used within 14 days to book an experience are reallocated into future draws. A fifth draw is being considered as an opportunity to allocate the balance of vouchers not yet used.
"We are working hard to see as many of these vouchers redeemed as possible, and as much of the $9 million in funding for this programme as possible end up with activity and attraction operators," says Pam.
Vouchers can be used to cover or contribute towards booking eligible experiences on the Explore Tāmaki Makaurau Bookme website. At the red traffic light setting, many activity and attractions operators can open safely with My Vaccine Pass requirements and some restrictions Рas outlined by the Ministry of Health.
Registrations for the programme closed on February 25, and a total of 225,226 people registered for the chance to receive a voucher.
