Council ponders approach to tourism

Ruapehu's skifields are just one of the region s many major tourist attractions. Photo/File

The Ruapehu region boasts some of the countrys major tourist destinations, but how to fund the promotion of these assets is a major problem facing Ruapehus district council.

Warren Furner, Ruapehu economic development manager, said it was an example of a small ratepayer base sitting on large recreational assets.

The council has been reviewing the operation of its regional tourism organisation, Visit Ruapehu, looking at what type of structure would best provide long-term, sustainable support for the central North Island tourism and visitor sector.

Rural districts like Ruapehu cant afford to self-fund the degree of investment required to promote their tourism sector, pay for the infrastructure required to protect their environment and enhance the visitor experience, Mr Furner said.

Ever since council was selected to lead the unlocking of regional tourism potential as part of the Accelerate25 (Manawat-Whanganui) Economic Action Plan, weve been struggling to properly resource Visit Ruapehu.

Although only 1.5 per cent of council expenditure, the investment in tourism has been a hotly debated issue within both council and the community over the last few years.

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Expenditure (MBIE) estimates tourism growth in the district is expected to reach 4.9 million visitors annually and $15 billion in spending by 2023.

Thats too big an opportunity to ignore, and council has an important role in ensuring the Ruapehu economy benefits from this. These MBIE estimates do not include the growth in domestic visitor numbers, which are also expected to continue to grow strongly.

Mr Furner said although there were variations in approach, all the political parties that could be part of the next government supported doing more to financially assist regional New Zealand.

The previous National government has supported MBIE to fund our council to research what a new central North Island promotional tourism organisation could look like. This could see a new tourism entity supported with new funding sources taking over the responsibilities currently performed by Visit Ruapehu and other central North Island regional tourism organisations and agencies.

He said research on this new entity was due to be completed by March next year and assuming it was supported by government, council and other stakeholders, it was seen as a medium-term possibility within the next three years.

Mr Furner said further community consultation would be part of next years 2018-2028 Long Term Plan consultation.