The Queenstown-Lakes draft destination management plan has been released for community feedback.
In 2020, 31 regional tourism organisations (RTOs) were given $47 million by the government to develop the plans, designed to outline a pathway to regenerative tourism by 2030.
In March, Tourism Minister Stuart Nash expressed frustration at the lack of pace by RTOS in developing the plans — at that stage, fewer than half the organisations had completed the task.
In the Southern Lakes region, Destination Queenstown, Lake Wanaka Tourism and Queenstown Lakes District Council worked with Kai Tahu and Department of Conservation to deliver the Tourism for a Better Future plan.
DQ chief executive Mat Woods said the plan, released yesterday, followed extensive community engagement, including specific questions in last year’s council-led quality-of-life survey, eight design forums and community events in the region, 60 one-on-one interviews, a tourism operators’ forum, and a community workshop delivered as part of the Wao Summit.
He said developing a plan for, and by, local communities had been a "clear priority" from the outset.
"The Covid-19 pandemic provided us with a unique opportunity to rethink our visitor economy, created from the values and expertise of our industry and our community across the region.
"Adopting a clear and united vision will be vital to success, so we really encourage our community to take the time to read through our plan and continue to engage with the process."
Lake Wanaka Tourism general manager Tim Barke said successful destination management planning could potentially deliver "enormous benefits" for communities, the environment and tourism businesses.
"This plan has the potential to guide the Queenstown Lakes district toward a future that everyone can be proud of, addressing today’s most significant tourism-related challenges with holistic solutions."
Queenstown Lakes residents "are not alone in questioning the value of tourism and how it will continue to have a positive impact," the plan says.
The draft plan outlines four strategic priorities, and projects to achieve each one.
The priorities were to enrich communities and enhance the visitor experience; foster an "environmentally-positive" visitor economy; build business resilience, capability and productivity; and collaborate to enable a regenerative visitor economy.
Feedback on the plan, at regenerativetourism.co.nz, closes on August 10. It will be officially launched in September.
