Waitaki is going against the national trend with an increase in the number of tourists visiting the district.
The half-year report of the Waitaki Development Board, which runs Tourism Waitaki, shows visitor numbers and bed nights for the six months to the end of December increased 4%, while New Zealand as a whole experienced a 7% reduction.
That made tourism a key contributor to the district's economy at a time it was facing challenges, board chairwoman Annabel Berry said in the report.
The board is owned by the Waitaki District Council and has responsibility for tourism, including running the i-Site visitor information centre and the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony, and economic development.
Tourism provided many benefits to the Waitaki district, including creating employment, revitalising communities, enhancing local pride, preserving the natural environment and contributing to regional growth, Mrs Berry said.
An excellent example was the development of the Alps 2 Ocean cycle trail, which was managed by Tourism Waitaki and would bring international and domestic tourists to the district for multiple nights.
The Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony, the ''No1 tourist attraction to the district'', had a growth in visitor numbers during the half-year period.
There were 29,869 visitors, compared with 27,972 for the same period in 2011, an increase of 6.7%.
Further development was being undertaken at the colony and was due to be completed this month.
In contrast, visitor numbers to the i-Site fell from 41,024 in the last six months of 2011 to 37,863 in the same period last year.
However, Mrs Berry said January and February were ''much more favourable''.
One development was the centre's free Wi-Fi internet access, which was encouraging people to stay in the centre, giving staff the opportunity to provide them with more detail about attractions.
In financial terms, Mrs Berry said the company was in a very sound position and operating within budget.
It ended the six months to the end of last year with an $84,076 surplus, with revenue of $523,335 and expenditure of $439,259.
More than half of the board's income was made up of $290,000 in grants from the council to provide services on its behalf. The rest was income it generated itself.
