DWC

Development West Coast has reopened its Regional Events Fund for application.

The region’s tourism has bounced back from a difficult pandemic, buoyed by the return of foreign tourists.

Hokitika Scenic Tours and West Coast Treetop Walkway and Zipline are partner on a regenerative programme that encourages people to purchase native plant seedlings as part of a fundraising effort for predator traps.

The West Coast is gaining appeal as a destination for domestic visitors to stay longer and include it as part of their travels around the country, according to new research from Development West Coast.

West Coast visitor spend in January 2023 exceeded pre-Covid levels, reaching just over $27.5m across the region, up 10.7% compare to the same month in 2020.

Visitors have been spending more and staying longer since NZ’s borders fully reopened.

The event wants to encourage the sector to challenge the way the region promotes itself.

The event aims to bring the region’s tourism whanau together to rethink, reinvigorate and challenge the state of the West Coast’s tourism offering.

Tourism spending on the West Coast fell 0.7% in the September 2022 year and guest nights also dropped 8.9%.

Manawatū and the West Coast are taking a tongue-in-cheek approach to attracting visitors to their regions over the summer, with the launch of two new ad campaigns.

Development West Coast will hold a tourism hui later this month to explore the theme of ‘customer service as a regional narrative’.

A West Coast recruitment campaign is seeking people Cut out for the Coast to fill jobs in the region.

Development West Coast’s Holiday Booster campaign is offering $100 off tourist packages to entice people to explore the region over summer.

The EDA has international spending in the region for the year to March 2021 had dropped 93% to just $6m compared with $86m in the previous fiscal year.

Development West Coast is offering a delivery rebate to help businesses operate during Covid-19 alert level 3.

Development West Coast has opened entries for its 2021 Leading Light Business Excellence Awards.

Campaign targets Kiwi families to plug gap left by internationals.

At least 100 hard hit Glacier Country businesses can be helped by Development West Coast’s $5m support fund.

Development West Coast hosted the Tourism New Zealand board for a day meeting tourism stakeholders and operators in the region.

Carbon negativity, converting forged-in-adversity image into compelling stories for visitors are key priorities.

The new $5m Glacier Country Business Support Fund aims to protect communities in the hard hit region.

The cash would come from a $128m fund managed by DWC trustees and established in 2001 when the region lost its indigenous forestry industry.