50-year tourism vision for Central Otago

A new dawn is emerging for Central Otago’s tourism industry and there are hopes every visitor, whether domestic or international, will help shoulder the burden of visitor costs.

The Central Otago District Council and Ngai Tahu yesterday released their long-awaited Central Otago destination management plan, which sets out a 50-year vision for tourism in the region.

The plan has been based on a set of Ngai Tahu values and sets out 10 tourism strategies, including sustainable future tourism funding, environmental stewardship, talent attraction, cross-sector collaboration and product development.

Tourism Central Otago Dylan Rushbrook said the plan would be shared in a series of roadshows in October before ‘‘hitting the ground running in the new year’’.

‘‘Prior to December we will be seeking to appoint a governance group to direct and plan and assist in setting up the projects,’’ he said.

He also hoped for a national-level conversation on appropriate tourism levies on all visitors, Mr Rushbrook said.

It was not fair ratepayers paid all visitor costs and it was time for change to protect the special corners of New Zealand, he said.

A significant increase in domestic visitors in the past two years had been fantastic for the Central Otago economy but burdens included Cornish Point parking issues, he said.

The council and Aukaha, a Ngai Tahu runanga consultancy, began working on the plan with residents, tourist operators and national bodies in 2020.

Mr Rushbrook said early estimates for the annual cost of implementing the plan were between $200,000 and $300,000.

Within each project there were other related costs but these were not fully understood.

One of the strategies was to look at alternative funding options, he said.

The plan was important because the region and the country had to find a way for tourism to enrich visitors, residents and place, he said.

‘‘While Central Otago hasn’t yet been impacted by over-tourism, left unmanaged there is certainly the risk we will see tourism numbers negatively impacting the region and local residents being left to deal with the burdens.

Tourism Central Otago destination development and marketing manager Anthony Longman said Ngai Tahu’s leadership and whanaukataka (kinship) had created a strong sense of connection and common purpose.

Central Otago District Council chief executive Sanchia Jacobs said the plan had been one of the largest pieces of quantitative research and consultation undertaken in the district.

Ngai Tahu had inspired an intergenerational approach, she said.