Rotorua tourism industry looks for feedback

Rotorua's tourism industry is being asked its views on the best way to improve communication with the Rotorua Tourism Committee.

Three options for an industry liaison structure have been put forward in a report by committee member Elizabeth Valentine and Rotorua District Council economic and regulatory services group manager Mark Rawson.

The options have been put to public consultation to get feedback ahead of the committee's next meeting on November 24.

Feedback from industry meetings last month showed a need for strong communication with the whole industry, not just a select few, to avoid issues such as disengagement or exclusion. The report calls for feedback on the options operators prefer, any flaws that would make a particular option unworkable and suggestions to improve any of the options.

Option 1: Establishment of a Rotorua Visitor Strategy Group

A strategy group of about 22 industry and market representatives would develop and monitor implementation of the committee's long-term strategic plan.

This option was suggested in the McIntyre Report, but was considered inefficient. The new report agrees the size of the group could affect its feasibility, but suggests it could work if the 20-plus sub-sectors were clustered into three or four interest groups such as transport, hospitality and accommodation and attractions.

Option 2: Two layered representation

This amended version of Option 1 would establish a Rotorua Tourism Industry Advisory Group on two levels.

Senior management/owners of tourism businesses would interact with the Tourism Committee at a governance level and senior or middle management would deal with Destination Rotorua Marketing at an operational level.

Members of the first group would be elected or appointed from sub-sector groups to facilitate engagement with the committee, put forward relevant issues and report back to industry.

Representatives working with Destination Rotorua Marketing would come from market sectors, such as domestic, Australia, China, and conferences and incentives.

This option could provide more meaningful engagement with industry and markets, with the potential to cross reference feedback for consistency, but the report indicated it relied heavily on the quality and skill of the sector and market representatives.

Using two separate groups could require additional resources and would only work with strong industry buy in.

Option 3: Industry representation based on markets

Advisory groups of up to 15 members would be set up based on markets, such as those suggested for the second level of Option 2. These would be made up of elected or appointed representatives from sub-sectors and parties interested in each specific market.

This approach combines engagement with the committee and Destination Rotorua Marketing with a focus on growth, but Valentine and Rawson expect it will be more time intensive.

Multiple market groups would result in wider industry involvement, but advisory group members would need to represent their own interests and those of the wider industry and the Tourism Committee would need more time for industry engagement.

The report on the proposed Rotorua Tourism Committee industry liaison structures is available at www.rdc.govt.nz and feedback can be provided until Monday, November 21, via www.rotoruanz.com or by emailing Mark Rawson at mark.rawson@rdc.govt.nz