The town and surrounding district wanted to make the most of a variety of proposed initiatives under way in the region and make sure it kept moving forward, Tuapeka-Lawrence Community Company (TLCC) member Nina Arron said.
Proposals such as the Lawrence Chinese Camp, the Roxburgh to Lawrence cycling and walking trail, as well as the upcoming sesquicentennial celebrations for Gabriel's Gully meant there was a lot of spotlight on the town, Ms Arron said.
The time was also ripe to promote local, small-town tourism, as many cut down on expensive overseas trips because of a tough economic climate, she said.
It was therefore time for a strategic plan ‘‘looking at the synergies'' of the area, and investigating how the community could work together to keep up momentum, Ms Arron said.
‘‘Lawrence has come a long way in the last few years and it's really building on that to make sure we make the most of it.''
Surrounding areas such as Waitahuna, Beaumont and Millers Flat would also be included in the strategy.
A working party to develop the strategy would be set up within the TLCC, a community group formed in 1990 to encourage business in the town that also started and still ran the Lawrence Information Centre, Ms Arron said.
A public meeting organised by Ms Arron earlier this month had attracted a good turnout of people interested in working together on tourism in the area, she said.
‘‘We need to work together as a region. For example, do we resurrect old ideas or would we move into something completely new. We know Lawrence is a great little town and a lot more than a rest stop on the way to somewhere else.''
Representatives from various tourism organisations were invited to the public meeting and may be consulted again for advice as the strategy progressed, Ms Arron said.
Some amazing opportunities were arising in the Lawrence area and it would be up to the community how to make the most of them, Tourism Dunedin chief executive officer Hamish Saxton, who attended the meeting, said.
He said ‘‘playing to your strengths'' was always a good idea, which in Lawrence's case meant heritage.
‘‘There are some terrific stories there about the beginnings of gold, and mining, and I guess farming, in colonial New Zealand. It's a very compelling story.''
- Pam Jones
