Tourism faces drastic funding cut

Otago Daily Times

03-05-2025

Waitaki tourism funding is likely to be slashed by the district council as it trims budgets in the face of a potential double-digit rate rise — throwing the Unesco-accredited Waitaki Whitestone Geopark's future funding in doubt.
The Waitaki District Council approved its draft 2025-34 Long Term Plan (LTP) in early February.
It subsequently attracted "a record" 650 submissions between February 4 and March 3.
However, the original draft proposals would have meant an average 10% rate hike for most ratepayers — and some Ahuriri Ward rural ratepayers were facing a projected 24% rates increase.
Now, council staff have been tasked by councillors with finding ways to pare down the LTP's proposed budget allocations to ease the burden on ratepayers.
At a council workshop on Monday the mayor and councillors were told a review of 16 in-house digital services projects had now resulted in a more realistic budget.
This would see a $5.6million forecast spending slashed from the LTP over the next nine years.
To do that, staff had removed $2.2m forecast for the Pathway to Progress project, $1.5m forecast for digitisation property trials and eliminated five projects completely — removing a further $1.9m of forecast spending on digital services projects initially projected through the LTP budget.
At the workshop, councillors directed staff to decline $500,000 in funding for tourism promotion.
Councillors suggested staff ask the regional tourism promotion team where it could spend funding of just $455,000 over three years.
Councillors declined to go along with Tourism Waitaki's suggestion a reduction in funds should be from the Waitaki Business Park and Waitaki Whitestone Geopark.
Mayor Gary Kircher recognised the "brutal and tough" nature of leaving the decision of allocating the money to Tourism Waitaki alone.
The Whitestone Geopark, Oamaru and Waitaki Visitor Centre, general tourism promotion and the Waitaki Business Park were all in need of funding.
Councillors were divided on funding for the Geopark — which requires $200,000 per year for the next three years.
Cr John McCone was not a fan of subsidising tourism.
"I say this for the simple reason this is a private enterprise.
"It's about tourism, which only brings in 4% of the GDP in the district, as opposed to 45%-50% of the primary industries.
"I don't see anyone in that business putting their hands in the pocket to actually help support it," he said.
Cr Tim Blackler said he disagreed.
"I think anyone that thinks the purpose of the Geopark is just solely to deliver tourism [has missed] what the purpose of the Geopark is.
"We've really got to familiarise ourselves with what it's meant to represent and in fact what they actually are achieving out in the community at the moment."
Other potential LTP savings could be forthcoming after councillors declined to spend a penny on a new $400,000 toilet strategy.
The workshop also directed staff to look at removing $17,000 a year for the Gardens Aviaries by 2027.
Mr Kircher said given the state of the current aviaries, "it's probably done".
Councillors were in agreement, with Cr Jim Hopkins summing up the feeling: "It's a substandard facility."
"It is not what one would establish as an aviary if you were building it new," he said.
"I think there is an element of cruelty in keeping those birds here, even though they're probably acclimatised."
Cr Hopkins said it "warrants us closing it", as attitudes and standards of animal welfare had changed.