Tourism BOP gets Tauranga Council funding boost

Tourism Bay of Plenty CEO Kristin Dunne.

Tourism Bay of Plenty will become the first Regional Tourism Organisation in New Zealand outside Auckland to become a Destination Manager, after a 48 per cent boost in Council funding.

The $620,910 increase, approved in Tauranga City Council's Long Term Plan, brings Tourism Bay of Plenty's combined annual funding from its three contributing Councils – Tauranga City Council, Western Bay of Plenty District Council and Whakatāne District Council – to $1.9m.

Tourism Bay of Plenty CEO Kristin Dunne says the funding increase puts the organisation at the forefront of the Destination Management movement in New Zealand.

She applauded both the Tourism Bay of Plenty Board of Trustees and Tauranga City Council for their foresight in championing and supporting what was a 'sea change” for the tourism industry.

'We are fortunate to have such a progressive and passionate Board and Council's which recognise the potential this region has and the significant role we play in assisting its development.

'This will enable us to become an insight-lead organisation that knows who our visitors are and what they want - vital information to sustainably champion tourism growth regionally.”

Destination Management, a trend worldwide, is the strategic and sustainable management of visitor-related development, coordinated with residents' interests, to preserve a region's unique identity. It brings stakeholders together and provides them with the tools to work collaboratively to meet the demands of growing numbers of visitors.

In essence, it means sharing our love of 'our place” with the world to the betterment of the community, not against it, says Kristin.

Tourism Industry Aoetaroa CEO Chris Roberts says of the 31 regional tourism organisations in the country, Tourism Bay of Plenty has had one of the biggest, if not the biggest, funding boosts.

They are also among the first RTOs to make Destination Management a clear priority in their long-term planning, he adds.

'Tourism Bay of Plenty has succeeded in getting the backing of their council funders because they have a great plan and vision, which has been shaped by extensive consultation with local and national stakeholders.”

The boost bucks a funding cut trend, with Tourism New Zealand's government funding reduced from $117.3m a year to 111.4m in the latest budget, while Hawke's Bay Regional Council's Long Term Plan includes a proposal to cut Hawke's Bay Tourism funding by $1.8 million over three years.

This means Tourism Bay of Plenty now has the ability to shift the focus of the organisation from not just attracting visitors to the Coastal Bay of Plenty (which stretches from Waihi Beach to the Whirinaki Forest) but to better manage their experience once they get here.

'With the additional funding we will be able to implement our Visitor Economy Strategy 2018 – 2028, growing tourism in a way that is both economically and environmentally sustainable.”

Visitors spent a record $1 billion in the Coastal Bay of Plenty last year – a milestone that was originally not forecast to occur for another 12 years. This figure is expected to grow to $1.45 billion by 2028.

'A thriving visitor economy that is well planned and managed will bring with it greater social amenities and higher living standards. In short, we all stand to benefit,” says Kristen.

Regional Tourism New Zealand Executive Officer Charlie Ives commended Tauranga City Council for signalling its long-term commitment to tourism in the Bay of Plenty.

'It is important that regions anticipate the pressure of tourism before it's too late. We are already seeing early indicators in some areas, such as overcrowding and a lack of accommodation.

"These are warnings of the impact tourism can have on us if we don't have a planned, developed and managed approach,” says Charlie.

'Destination Management is undoubtedly the way forward, and we will be watching Tourism Bay of Plenty's progress with interest.”

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7 comments

Pay your rates on time

Posted on 12-06-2018 14:30 | By backofthequeue

"Tourism BOP has had one one the biggest, if not the biggest, funding boosts". Who cares about essential infrastructure such as pipes or permits when you can have Destination Management and a Visitor Economy Strategy 2018-2028 ??? Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha, plonk!


Why?

Posted on 12-06-2018 16:12 | By Captain Sensible

Why are ratepayers expected to fund tourism? Most of us get ZERO benefits from tourists coming here. What has this even got to do with TCC? Do TCC members get free holidays, ooops, I mean fact finding work, from Tourism BOP?


Great Buzz Words

Posted on 12-06-2018 17:29 | By The Sage

Wonderful words, Destination Management, Sustainability, Shift Focus, Planned, Developed, Social Amenities, does anyone actually know what this lot means? Do any of us get to see their KPI's and how they actually measure up them? I doubt it. These guys are right up there with Priority One, all smoke and mirrors and plenty of Council funding. who cares about lack of accomodation for Tourists, I doubt this helps any of the people in the area, who really need housing, attain it.


Pure crap

Posted on 12-06-2018 18:03 | By maildrop

Judging by what builders and plumbers charge this will build a couple of public bogs. Even with the rating changes tourism businesses are NOT paying enough. Creaming it in whilst ordinary people bear the brunt.


One day

Posted on 12-06-2018 20:34 | By Marshal

One day, Maybe when tourists spend 2 Billion it will be enough so rate payers won't have to fund the growth of there industry.. Rate payer are being made to look like fools by these over the top wealth gatherer's. Who do the Tauranga city council think they are.. ?? I have no idea why they are there.. Watching Tauranga evolve is like a badly scripted movie..lol


@ backofthequeue and Captain Sensible

Posted on 12-06-2018 20:35 | By Crash test dummies

That indeed sums it up fully. Throw money at it, no one else can figure why or what for, just unbelievable... meanwhile there failing sewerage systems, half compelte pipework, traffic conjestion everywhere, but hey lets try and sucker a whole lot more mugs to drift through the place onwards to Rotorua


High time

Posted on 13-06-2018 07:43 | By nerak

we who pay these dreamers of fancy names are told what their take home pay is. In this crazy world the sillier the name the more the inventor of that name appears to 'earn'. So what is Kristin's pay packet? Really disappointed TCC has approved this, first priority is surely to BVH - $621 k would go a long way to buying out one of those properties. And definitely time tourism businesses stumped up instead of expecting us to carry them, especially as Tauranga ratepayers will see little of their money spent in the Tauranga area, but in Rotorua, Whakatane and elsewhere.


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