Mayor Annette Main said it was a issue that needed addressing.
"We've been approached to hold major conferences here but simply couldn't bid for them because we aren't able to offer the quality of accommodation guests would have expected," Ms Main said.
Apart from the matter of high quality hotels, Mrs Wickham, a partner in a Whanganui River-based tourism business, said those in the industry were ambassadors for the district.
She said the statistics showed growth within the sector which was injecting dollars into Whanganui's economy.
"But the future will involve a broader collaboration with our neighbours Ruapehu and Rangitikei because we can all draw on key national assets like the Whanganui River and National Park and Tongariro National Park," she said.
Mrs Wickham said while the current push had been aimed at domestic visitors, she believed Whanganui operators needed to target international visitors.
"But marketing offshore is not cheap, In fact it's incredibly expensive so we need to work collaboratively with those neighbours," she said.
