Public given a say on our tourism ‘road map’,There to protect them on their journey

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

EFFORTS to create a “road map” for the future of tourism here are moving into a public consultation phase.

Australian-based consultants the Stafford Group were appointed to create a Destination Development Plan (DDP) for Tourism Eastland last month and Tourism Eastland chief executive said so far the Stafford team had already met with more than 100 people as part of that process.

“Consultation for the Tourism Eastland regional Destination Development Plan (DDP) is progressing well. As well as meetings with iwi and select groups and individuals, Tourism Eastland will hold a public forum at the i-Site in Grey Street next Thursday at 6.30pm to give non-members a chance to have a say.

“We really do value the opinion of the wider community and it is often from there that great ideas grow.

“We recognise that we don’t have ‘a mortgage on good ideas’ so any thoughts about how we can grow tourism will be welcome.

“Part of the discussions and meetings will include some of the interim findings from the month- long work so far.”

Mr Perry said he hoped that many of the public who had strong views on tourism would attend, as they wanted to capture those thoughts in the final plan.

“While the DDP will be completed by the end of June, it is very much a ‘living document’ and we will regularly update it to reflect the changing state of play in the industry.”

Reflection of the state of tourismThe final document would be a comprehensive reflection of the state of tourism in the region and reflect the aspirations for the future.

“This is a really important piece of work and the feedback and input so far has been very interesting.”

Mr Perry said so far the Stafford team had met with more than 100 people and had more than 20 more meetings next week with groups and individuals.

“Next week, we will travel around the coast from Opotiki to Wairoa and all points in between.

“We will be accompanied by Simon Phillips, the director of regions for the Maori Tourism Board.

“Simon is keen to meet with as many people as possible and the journey around the coast will have a twofold effect of meeting the people and understanding the opportunities that are there, as well as giving the Maori Tourism board an understanding of what we have to offer the New Zealand tourism industry.”