DMP

Tourism giving more than it takes for society, the environment and people is the foundation of Hauraki and Coromandel’s new destination management plan, but funding remains a challenge.

Southland’s Beyond 2025 regional long term plan is almost ready for launch.

RotoruaNZ has published its first annual report on the region’s destination management plan.

ChristchurchNZ chief executive Ali Adams is confident the region’s destination management plan will be put into action despite no clear method of how it will be funded.

“I think the question around implementation of destination management plans, that’s still to be determined,” said ChristchurchNZ chief executive Ali Adams at TRENZ yesterday.

“The funding to develop the plan was provided by MBIE, and we have tried to make that funding go as far as possible by linking it with our own funding around city identity and doing that as a total package, which makes it much more effective and efficient, and so that’s been very valuable,” said Adams.

ChristchurchNZ was allocated $1.9m for two destination management plans as part of the wider $26.8m Tourism Communities: Support, Recovery and Re-Set Plan. These include one for Banks Peninsula with $400,000, and a $1.5m one for Christchurch and the broader surrounding region. Both are expected to be completed next month.

“The key here is that I genuinely believe we have brought our partners along for the journey,” said Adams.

“We can’t implement as an RTO all the things that are going to come out of a destination management plan, they’re going to cover a much broader range, whether it’s [Environment Canterbury] or the [Christchurch] City Council, or whoever else might have a role to play.”

Adams said ChristchurchNZ’s role has been to educate and bring those stakeholders with them on the DMP journey.

“Implementation of the destination management plans, for example, will form part of our long-term plan submission to council… because it’s pointless having a plan if we don’t actually implement it.

“So has it been determined – no, am I confident that it will be in place? Yes, I am actually confident we’ve done that management.”

She said ChristchurchNZ was also “unashamedly looking at attracting tourism here at scale”.
“We do need to do it in a way that absolutely is regenerative and thinks about the other capitals that we have our social capital and our physical and environmental capital – that goes without saying.

“But we do have the infrastructure in place to genuinely be making Christchurch a destination in its own right and looking to increase the length of that stay.”

Destination Great Lake Taupō is running a series of workshops to gather feedback on its destination brand – one of the first action points within its destination management plan.

Taupō’s future as a destination will depend on being able to shift from a largely economic model in favour of a regenerative one, according to its new destination management plan.

The region enjoys a good summer with internationals returning following a difficult pandemic.

The region’s new destination management plan is heralded as a “milestone”.

NZ’s funding of its tourism system should be re-examined and questions asked about how RTOs will be able to fund destination management.

The first 12 months of Te Tai Tokerau Northland’s destination plan have contributed to significant product development and added value to the region’s visitor appeal, says Northland Inc.

The new plan identifies key initiatives that can help help grow and maintain a sustainable and thriving visitor economy for he region.

The country’s first destination management event has started at Waitangi, Bay of Islands, with formulating strategy the theme of the inaugural residential wānanga.

The tourism minister’s comments could derail “the most transformational mahi anyone in tourism has ever seen”.

Enhancing the value of Tai Tokerau Northland’s visitor experiences is the focus of the region’s new destination plan.