Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony manager Jason Gaskill had been appointed Tourism Waitaki general manager, overseeing the colony, Tourism Waitaki, Oamaru i-Site and the Alps 2 Ocean, she said.
A new role of marketing manager to manage the marketing team, oversee promotions, media and trade had gone to Megan Howell.
Retail and operations for all units would be centralised into one role for greater efficiency and would be filled later in the month.
The i-Site manager, Tania Pacey, elected to not apply for any role in the new structure. She had been involved in the area for 13 years and decided to look at other opportunities.
Key projects the new team would work on over the next few months included developing revenue streams for the Alps 2 Ocean, continuing to develop the day tour experience at the penguin colony and promoting the district and businesses.
Mrs Berry said Mr Gaskill brought to the role excellent tourism and strategic business management experience. He had sound leadership skills combined with the ability to drive new tourism products such as the Alps 2 Ocean cycle trail to the next stage, she said.
The changes were a proactive approach in response to a drop in funding over the past five years, changes in the tourism industry and the need to be more efficient and increase revenue to reduce costs to the ratepayer.
Waitaki Mayor Alex Familton said Tourism Waitaki had responded to negative economic conditions by proactively reviewing its structures and management.
''Their review focus has been on efficiencies and cohesion between operating units.
''Council strongly supports this realistic response, which has the potential to reduce costs to the community and bring a new and productive direction to the tourism sector,'' he said.
