Business events in New Zealand with over 200 attendees have been included – for the first time – in the country’s Events Transition Support Payment scheme (ETSP).
Under ETSP, the New Zealand government will underwrite costs so that organisers of an eligible event will be able to claim 90 per cent of unrecoverable costs if the event cannot be held due to public health measures for events. It will be valid for events scheduled from April 4, 2022, to January 31, 2023.
Business events must have been publicly announced or have been active in the market prior to January 23, 2022, for events scheduled to begin before July 1, 2022; or at least four months prior to the event date for events scheduled to begin on or after July 1, 2022.
The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment will have a new eligibility form online by March 1 and the changes take effect on April 4.
The original ETSP scheme was introduced in November 2021 to give event organisers financial certainty to host large-scale events such as festivals over summer, but did not include business events then.
Business Events Industry Aotearoa’s chief executive Lisa Hopkin welcomed the timely announcement, adding that the New Zealand government recognises the high value of business events industry and gives long-overdue certainty to organisers, venues and clients to help plan ahead.
“When a business event is held, it not only brings much-needed contribution to the tourism and hospitality sectors, but also impacts positively on the community. It supports a highly skilled and dedicated supply chain, who have really felt the impact of restrictions over the past couple of years,” she stressed.
