New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has recently announced the availability of $37.5 million aid for the residents of Auckland. Along with this aid comes the give-away of 100,000 free tickets to Auckland’s local attractions.
The aid is implemented in partnership with The Auckland Council. The money is given to the city’s residents for the purposes of aid in economic, social, and cultural recoveries in all of the areas of Auckland during the summer.
The campaign is called “Explore Tamaki Makaurau This Summer”. It refers to the 100,000 free tickets/vouchers to local attractions. Inclusive of these vouchers are discounted prices to admission to facilities that the councils run to invite and motivate tourists and visitors to visit Auckland.
The external companies that run the activities in these venues may offer a couple of various activities, such as, outdoor activities and activities that involve the usage of technology. The aid comes with a $10 million give away that support complementary summer activities. Examples of these activities are those that are hosted by business and cultural organizations, and individual groups located within the city areas.
Ardern shares she understands that organizations, families, and poor people had suffered the most in the past 100 days of quarantine and other protocols implemented due to Covid-19. Families reportedly can apply in getting a $100 voucher or discounted prices when they go shopping in a couple of retail establishments in Auckland.
Postal codes are the primary factors to be considered in the distribution of vouchers. The government seeks to evenly distribute the vouchers to all deserving families in Tamaki Makaurau.
Auckland’s hospitality market does not agree with the distribution of this aid, though. The chief executive of Restaurant Association of New Zealand is Marisa Bidois, Bidois airs out her frustration on behalf of the restaurants in Auckland of not being included as beneficiaries of the $37 million recovery funds.
Back in September, the Restaurant Association of New Zealand allegedly distributed a couple of aid systems which the government could ponder of implementing. The government considered the voucher rule as one of the aid systems to possibly enforce back then.
Ardern clears up the issues, though, by announcing that the voucher aid rule for the hospitality businesses is difficult to enforce outside New Zealand, and, thus, is hard to run. The voucher aid rule inspires visitors to visit the attractions during weekdays. However, there are times that such a situation causes a decrease in the number of visitors to these places during weekends.
