Tourism Support, Recovery & Reset Fund
Tourism Central Otago’s funding boosted by $1 million government investment
Today’s announcement by Minister Nash, confirming the new round of investment funding for regional tourism organisations (RTOs), is welcome news for Central Otago.
The funding is by way of a grant from the Tourism Communities: Support, Recovery and Reset Plan announced in May. It will enable and empower Tourism Central Otago (TCO) to make further steps delivering on the priority strategic projects in Council’s 2018-28 Central Otago Tourism Strategy.
To be eligible for the funding RTOs needed a commitment of funding from local government, which was confirmed with Council approval of the 2021-2031 Long Term Plan, and presentation of an Investment Plan detailing the projects that will be undertaken with the funding. TCO’s investment plan includes continuing projects initiated with funding from the first round and introducing new projects that will be instrumental in providing the foundations for the best possible tourism future for Central Otago.
Just over 20% of the new funding is committed for destination marketing, with the remainder being allocated to key projects that support destination management, destination development and operator capability.
The new projects to be funded from this round are focussed on developing visitor experiences around the Eden Hore Central Otago fashion collection and associated stories, undertaking research to understand community/residents’ sentiment to tourism, creation of a data dashboard to interpret research and data that will help guide decisions, and having a person assigned to work directly with tourism operators to build their knowledge and skill base.
Continuing projects begun with the previous funding will see the finalising and implementation of a destination management plan with a 50-year vision confirming how the people of Central Otago want tourism to evolve for future generations; ongoing development of the region’s food and wine tourism offering; the roll out of the events toolkit project; and further embedding and leveraging Central Otago as a leader in cycle tourism.
TCO General Manager Dylan Rushbrook is excited to receive confirmation of the funding.
“It’s huge kudos to the team to know that the strategic work we have begun and the projects we’ve identified as game changers are delivering value for our community and the local tourism sector, and that government recognises this and is supporting our endeavours,” said Mr Rushbrook.
“The Central Otago Tourism Strategy has provided us with the strongest framework possible to continue moving forward post COVID-19. It has guided us in delivering on the aspiration to achieve a destination that enriches people and place knowing that tourism is a valued contributor to that goal. We are so fortunate to have received the additional funding. I’m excited to see us have the means to move forward with the Eden Hore project and take steps to implement the first steps of the destination management plan when finalised.”
