Tourism Central Otago wants to understand from the residents of Central Otago what you aspire our tourism future to be.

General Manager for Tourism Central Otago, Dylan Rushbrook says, "We as council talk regularly about tourism needing to provide value to people and place, and absolutely it must. But value can mean many things to many people.

"So to understand what value means across the district we have engaged an independent research company Angus & Associates to run a series of ‘Tourism Futures Workshops’.

Dylan Rushbrook, General Manager wants to hear from locals who live, play and work in our community

They will also be running a wider online survey for anyone who doesn’t get into the focus group sessions.

This research will inform Central Otago District Council how they are to instruct Tourism Central Otago to manage the future growth and development of tourism in Central Otago.

We have seen examples from around the world of tourism negatively impacting what makes a place special, no one wants to see tourism do that in Central Otago.

Many might think it is a problem for another day as tourism is so badly impacted by COVID-19 it really doesn’t matter right now.

However, every indicator we have is that New Zealand is as popular as ever and possibly even more so than pre-COVID.

Yes travelers may have some difficulty getting here in the short term, but in another 5-10 years we could well be back to where things were, or worse.

The work Tourism Central Otago is leading will enable us to create a 50 year vision for tourism in Central Otago, with a series of check-in points along the way to ensure we are still on the right path.

This is a unique opportunity to plan for the future which COVID-19 has provided us, we’re determined to use it in the best possible way but absolutely need your help.

To find out more and sign up to be part of the ‘Tourism Futures Workshops’ please go to www.centralotagonz.com/destination-management 

Registrations close on the 17^th of October.