Ms Ardern was in Rotorua today meeting key leaders to discuss the tourism industry's recovery.
As Easter and Anzac Day had fallen during the earlier lockdown periods, Ms Ardern was asked if additional holiday time was being considered, and she replied that the Government was mulling ways "to encourage New Zealanders to come and see their own back yards".
"Those are things we're giving active consideration to."
"Take a two-hour trip and come experience it for yourself," she said.
They were also educational experiences to be had.
Ms Ardern was at Te Puia New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute for a series of discussions on how the region is coping following the alert level lockdowns and the plan for the future.
It comes after the Government announced $7.6 million funding for it to get back on its feet.
Ms Ardern told media the extra support was in place to ensure New Zealand has weavers and carvers and people with specialist Maori knowledge.
She said the funding was specifically for Te Puia, not Rotorua as a whole, and there was more funding available for other tourism organisations.
Rotorua would be a place that would "thrive again" once we get out of the pandemic, with support.
Ms Ardern warned some large-scale tourism operations would need to go into hibernation.
Ms Ardern was accompanied by Māori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta, Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis and Waiariki MP Tāmati Coffey.
Mr Davis said Hobbiton would likely be one of the assets saved by the $400m tourism fund.
Maori tourism had unique offerings for the world, which was why there was a specific approach for the sector, Mahuta said.
The Goverment was asking for greater collaboration across tourism operations, she said.
Ardern met leaders at Destination Rotorua this morning and will talk with Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick and deputy mayor Dave Donaldson.
When asked about hospitality, she said there was "a big difference" between what New Zealand was doing than other countries and the Government had worked with the sector to mitigate the risk of flare-ups of Covid-19 when bars open.
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Comments
would be nice if things were cheaper for new zealanders.
Let's just make it all one holiday. I thought a country and a person worked it's and their way into sustainablity and standards of living and that we as NZers have been admonished for not saving enough but now the rules are about spending regardless of rates of return on the spend or tangibility in the future and holidays. What a wonderful world it is to be.
Hard to go on holiday around the country when you have no money to spend.
Who pays for this nonsense, the tax payer or the employer? The PM's total lack of economics is frightening!