From mid-2016 Bay of Plenty businesses have a new voice, Bay of Plenty Business News. This new publication reflects the region’s growth and importance as part of the wider central North Island economy.
Bay of plenty MARCH/APRIL 2018 VOLUME 3: ISSUE 3 WWW.BOPBUSINESSNEWS.CO.NZ FACEBOOK.COM/BOPBUSINESSNEWS BOP tourist industry Explores new direction Gloworm kayak tours: Photo/Waimarino The good news for the Coastal Bay of Plenty is that tourists spent a record $1 billion last year. The less good news - at least for some business ratepayers - is that Tourism Bay of Plenty is seeking increased annual council funding of around $620,000 to help support a new and better targeted approach. By DAVID PORTER Tourism BOP says the increase would make its funding more aligned with other similar-sized Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs). And it would underpin its efforts to drill down and gain a better understanding of exactly who comes to the region and why, and to transition from largely promotional activities to what the industry describes as destination management. “It would be reckless to allow this level of growth without a considered management plan. We are aiming to grow the visitor economy on our terms, with the right visitors at the right time, for the benefit of the region,” said Tourism BOP chief executive Kristin Dunne. “Destination management Kristin Dunne: Photo/Tourism BOP is the coordinated management of all the elements that make up a region. It is the key to controlling tourism’s environmental impacts and preserving the region’s unique identity.” Dunne told Bay of Plenty Business News the move was part of a long-term strategy that was attempting to balance growth with a solid management plan. As part of this process, the tourism body has put together a 10-year Visitor Economy Strategy. This has forecast that the visitor economy will grow by more than 50 percent by 2028, positioning tourism as one of the larger economic contributors to the region. “The additional funding will allow us to do a lot more research so that we can better understand the visitors and we could be making insight-led decisions. That’s really at the heart of destination management - it’s making sure we understand who the visitors are, where they’re coming from, and what they need.” The reality was that currently the research data was very poor, Dunne said. The BOP is a region with many entry and exit points, making measurement of visitors difficult. Continued on page 3 dry shareholders Growers support new Zespri structure P8 swiped on Tauranga company’s $15 million grant P9 tourism & Events The wider region P20-22
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