Tourism Dunedin, the tourism body largely funded by the Dunedin City Council, wants the council to increase its funding to the sector by almost 32%.
The extra funding was critical to achieving good economic outcomes for tourism in the city, Tourism Dunedin chairman Murray Walker told the annual plan hearing committee yesterday.
In its draft 2008-09 budget, the council proposes funding of $1.09 million for Tourism Dunedin. Tourism Dunedin was seeking an additional $350,000, although not all that money would go directly to the organisation, Mr Walker said.
It suggested a $250,000 annual contestable fund be established to enable Tourism Dunedin and other groups to implement the Dunedin visitor strategy due to be finalised this year.
Tourism Dunedin's applications to this fund would total $87,000 - $31,000 for domestic market initiatives, $13,000 for publications and media liaison, $10,000 to improve its website and $15,000 to attract more conferences to the city.
The organisation also sought a further $95,000 to continue working with airlines, $100,000 to promote Dunedin to Australian tourists, $10,000 to pay pipe bands to farewell cruise ships from Port Chalmers, $54,000 for additional international marketing, and $87,000 to begin paying Tourism Dunedin board trustees.
Payment to trustees had been recommended in an earlier review, Mr Walker said.
"No funding provision has been made to Tourism Dunedin historically and so resources are not available within our existing budget to allow [this]."
In response to Cr Kate Wilson, Mr Walker said it was not possible to say how many jobs would be created as a result of the additional funding.
