Govt increases hotel grants

Press, 25 January 1986, Page 8

Govt increases hotel grants

PA Wellington Increased grants to encourage the construction of more international standard hotels were announced yesterday by the Minister of Tourism, Mr Moore. The grants, in lieu of first-year depreciation allowances for international hotels and- big tourism projects, were being increased to fuel the hotel building boom, Mr Moore

The grant for hotels had been increased from 9.5 per cent to 10.5 per cent, he said. This applied to any hotel of international standard in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch which had a minimum of 200 rooms, or, in the case of Queenstown, 150 rooms. Hotel projects for which the grant had already been approved would be paid at the existing

rate of 9.5 per cent The grant-in-lieu for big tourism development projects — other than hotels and costing more than $1 million — would also be increased, from 45 per cent to 48 per cent “Investors would be wise to seize the opportunity while it is offering because the incentive is due to expire in a year,” Mr Moore said. He answered comments the Opposition’s

tourism spokesman, Mr Cooper, this week that hotels of • international standard were not being built by saying that Mr Cooper was “only whinging.” “My marketing budget is up 187 per cent and if Mr Cooper looks out his Queenstown window he will see the tourism boom.” Eleven big hotel projects were under way throughout New Zealand, he said.