A second round of community forums designed to "shape the future" of the Queenstown Lakes district began in Wanaka and Queenstown this week, with events taking their turn under the spotlight.
The Queenstown forum on Wednesday attracted about 50 people. Another 30 attended the Wanaka forum on Thursday.
The "Shaping Our Future" community forums are costing ratepayers $51,400, with another $28,000 earmarked in the next financial year.
The programme was launched last week. Sessions on the district's economic future were attended by almost 200 people in Queenstown and Wanaka.
Further forums will be held on issues such as health, culture, arts and heritage and food.
The forums were an opportunity for everyone to discuss issues important to the entire district, Queenstown Mayor Vanessa van Uden said in a statement.
"They are a vital step in a process that takes advantage of the collective knowledge of individuals and organisations in the region to find solutions to issues towards a better future for everyone."
One of the major issues raised at the Queenstown events forum was the need for an independent events organisation that could study all the district's events, co-ordinate a comprehensive, balanced events calendar and assist in lobbying for more events facilities.
Facilitator Dave Robert said Queenstown people had questions about what sorts of events were being held, how many there were, how many people they attracted and whether the community wanted all the events.
There was also some discussion about how local events - for example, Wanaka's Festival of Colour - could be leveraged so the whole district benefited, he said.
In Wanaka, representatives from the Department of Conservation, Lake Wanaka Tourism, Festival of Colour, Challenge Wanaka, private event organisers, farmers, the Upper Clutha A and P Show, farmers market, moteliers and volunteers attended.
Queenstown Lakes District Council chief executive Debra Lawson was there; also Wanaka councillors Lyal Cocks and Leigh Overton, and the council's senior policy analyst Scott Figenshow.
Among positive drivers for change in the Wanaka events industry were trends, community involvement, economic benefits, job creation, increased public access, social benefits, population growth, increased leisure time and income, and landscape setting.
Negatives included increasing costs of compliance, dealing with regulation and bylaws, constraints on funding opportunities, volunteer burnout, environmental effects, waste generation and strain on infrastructure.
Two more events forums will be held in each town.
