Taranaki

The Taranaki Crossing visitor centre is set to undergo a $2.9m redevelopment as work gets underway to improve the experience for people traversing 41 kilometres of tracks in the region.

The New Zealand Airports Association has selected New Plymouth Airport as the winner of two design and excellence awards.

More than 70 international students have arrived in Taranaki to begin their education at schools and universities in the region.

Keep cats, dogs and animal friends at home and out of national parks – that is the message from the Department of Conservation after trampers brought their cats up Mt Taranaki this week.

A campervan has been transformed into a fully-curated art gallery featuring 26 New Zealand artists and 50 works.

Venture Taranaki has renewed its partnership with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and Callaghan Innovation.

A “smuggled” tapestry exhibition attracted around 21,800 visitors to New Plymouth, with 16,000 people coming from outside the region.

New Plymouth’s Brooklands Zoo has received accreditation from the Zoo Aquarium Association for its excellence and commitment to positive animal welfare.

Taranaki is among the top seven regions in the country for visitor spend for the year ending February 2022, says Venture Taranaki.

Pacific International Hotel Management School in Taranaki is calling on New Zealand students to train for a tourism career ahead of an expected surge in demand.

All live shows at the Auckland Art Festival and the WOMAD festival in New Plymouth have been cancelled due to the Omicron outbreak.

SkyCity Casino Hamilton has been named a Covid-19 location of interest after a Covid-19 case visited between 5.33pm-6.38pm on Tuesday 25 January.

WOMAD NZ organisers will proceed with extreme caution as they to works towards WOMAD 2022 set to take place in Taranaki 18-20 March.

Regions that rode the “do something new” tourism wave last summer are not benefitting as much but there have been bright spots.

The Coastal Arts Trail has teamed up with Quirky Campers NZ to launch a new art-immersive campervan.

New Plymouth Airport’s Te Hono terminal has won the special prize for an airport exterior at the Prix Versailles Airports 2021, beating Berlin’s Brandenburg Airport, Athens International Airport, and the Philippines’ Clark International Airport.

The TSB Festival of Lights in New Plymouth has been cancelled due to Covid restrictions.

Around 95% of Taranaki Crossing routes will be upgraded over summer.

A group of 20 Taranaki food and beverage producers are coming together to showcase their products in Eltham, the home of New Zealand’s first cheese exports.

But they are unlikely to have the usual crowds of Aucklanders, says Venture Taranaki’s CEO

Taranaki projects protecting taonga species have received a $9.8m boost through the government’s Jobs for Nature programme.

Mt Taranaki’s Around the Mountain Circuit could be closed for months, following damage to the track during storms in July.

A trip down memory lane was one of the highlights of last week’s Tourism Export Council of New Zealand’s annual conference in New Plymouth.

Nearly 100 tourism suppliers are meeting the country’s inbound tour operators at the inaugural Tourism Trade Expo in Taranaki today.

Whanganui, Taranaki and the Manawatū are jointly launching a pan-region arts trail to showcase works and entice visitors to the lower west coast of the North Island.

The Department of Conservation staff is clearing and rerouting tracks on Taranaki Maunga after severe storm damage, and damage assessment of the entire network of tracks was still underway.

The use of personalised virtual assistants and digital tools will grow as more people travel alone in the future, according to research from Venture Taranaki.

Art and music events proving popular among out-of-towners.

Lack of overseas visitors, difficultly in finding migrant workers cited.

Christchurch and Nelson also win awards.

Venture Taranaki has made available over 400 assets and resources as part of its new Taranaki Story initiative to support regional enterprises.

Stations located near main entrance of gardens and free to use 24/7.

Deal set to provide major economic boost for Taranaki economy.

Police and Alpine Cliff Rescue staff have identified the climbers who fell near the summit of Mount Taranaki as Christchurch-based engineering geologists Richard Phillips and  Peter Kirkwood.

Ngā Iwi o Taranaki have placed a rāhui on all access routes to the Mount Taranaki summit to acknowledge the fatalities of the Christchurch climbers on 4 May.

More than 100 delegates are forecasted to travel to Taranaki for its Regional Business Partner Network Conference.

The Department of Conservation has started construction of new boardwalks across the Pouakai Tarns and the Ahukawakawa wetland as part of its Taranaki Crossing project.

The rest of NZ shifts to level 2 after three Auckland cases, two of whom recently visited Taranaki attractions.

The annual WOMAD music festival at New Plymouth has been cancelled for the first time in its 16 years due to Covid-19 concerns.

The Stratford Information Centre i-SITE has moved to the Stratford Library in Prospero Place.

The Department of Conservation is reminding people to take care around marine mammals coming to shore this summer after the arrival of a leopard seal on a Taranaki beach.

Taranaki arts event RESET 2020 – A Festival for Aotearoa kicked off last week with three opening night performances across the region.

New Plymouth District Council has voted to ban freedom camping completely at Corbett Park in Ōākura and at two areas at Tongaporutu.

Venture Taranaki has launched its new ‘Taranaki – Just around the corner’ domestic tourism campaign.

From 2 November Mount Taranaki’s Pouakai Hut will move to online booking via the Department of Conservation’s website.

The Government and those responsible for looking after New Zealand’s tourism future need to listen more to those with domestic tourism expertise, says Justine Gilliland.

New Plymouth District Council is seeking feedback on the possibility of a marina as part of how $2bn of public funds will be invested in its next 10-year plan.

Venture Taranaki is seeking proposals for developing the region as a food tourism destination, as well as any potential product offerings that may be involved within the project.

Gilliland said the approach resulted in “pathetically small” support for already-strong domestic tourism-centric regions.

Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Mutunga has gained a $48,144 grant for a range of work in the Taramoukou Conservation Area in the northern Taranaki.