There is fantastic news for Aucklanders who registered to be in with a chance to receive a voucher to enjoy a fun activity or experience across our region – with a new bonus draw added to this summer’s Explore TƒÅmaki Makaurau voucher programme.
Today is also the final day for people who received Explore Tāmaki Makaurau vouchers in the fourth draw on March 1 to use them to book an experience, before the voucher expires at midnight tonight.
The $9 million Government-funded programme is being delivered by Auckland’s economic and cultural agency Auckland Unlimited to help revive economic, social and cultural activities in TƒÅmaki Makaurau.
A bonus draw has been confirmed for March 22.
"The bonus draw is a great opportunity to offer Aucklanders who have registered – but so far missed out – an opportunity to enjoy a voucher," says Auckland Unlimited’s director of investment and industry, Pam Ford.
"It also means we can extend the programme’s boost to local businesses which are benefitting from it.
"I urge people who haven’t redeemed a voucher they won in the most recent draw to get busy and book an experience before midnight night – it would be shame to miss out."
Across the programme so far, more than 81,000 of the 100,000 Explore Tāmaki Makaurau Vouchers have been used and more than 330,000 individual tickets have been booked.
More than 100 activity and attraction businesses in Auckland have already benefitted from the voucher programme, with more than $6.5 million worth of vouchers used so far.
"We’re delighted the programme has done what it was designed to do. So many individuals and whƒÅ¬Ånau have been able to enjoy fun experiences and, at the same time, help support our region’s activity and attraction businesses which have done it tough in recent years due to COVID-19 restrictions.
"This voucher programme has achieved considerable impact to date, and we’ve had fantastic feedback from operators and Aucklanders."
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.
Voucher recipients receive a $50 or $100 voucher that can be used towards booking an experience on the Explore Tāmaki Makaurau Bookme website.
Voucher recipients have 14 days to use the voucher to book an experience, however on February 28 the booking window was extended to June 30, 2022 (from the original date of April 30) to allow greater flexibility for customers and businesses to manage bookings impacted by COVID-19.
At the red traffic light setting, many activity and attractions operators can open safely with My Vaccine Pass requirements and some restrictions – as outlined by the Ministry of Health.
Successful voucher recipients are notified by email and those registered are encouraged to check email and spam folders for the notification.
Registrations for the programme closed on February 25, and a total of 225,226 people registered for the chance to receive a voucher.
Key numbers of the Explore Tāmaki Makaurau Voucher Programme, as of Tuesday, March 15:
More than $6.5 million worth of vouchers has been redeemed with activity and attraction operators to date, of a total of $9 million available. More than 81,000 vouchers (of 100,000 available) have been used, so far. 330,000-plus experiences (individual tickets) have been booked using the vouchers.
More than 225,220 Aucklanders registered for the voucher programme from December 15, 2021 to February 15 2022. More than 100 businesses have received bookings through the programme.
