Future of regional tourism ‘dire’ if council funding cut

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Hawke’s Bay is a popular destination for art deco and wine fans.
Photo: 123rf

Cutting funding to regional tourism agencies could kill businesses, an industry insider says.

Both Hawke’s Bay and Waikato councils are looking to stop or reduce funding to local tourism bodies as they face rising costs and skyrocketing rates.

Hawke’s Bay Tourism currently receives $1.5 million per year from the council.

Chairperson George Hickton told Checkpoint the future of the organisation was “pretty dire” if its funding was cut.

“It really means that all of our activity would cease from the beginning of July.”

Hawke’s Bay Tourism’s website would shut down and all of its connections with local and national media would be severed, he said.

“We know that tourism in Hawke’s Bay will start to deteriorate quite quickly.

“Without reminding people that we are an attractive destination, other regions will fill that slot.”

Hickton, who is also the former head of Tourism NZ, said only 20 percent of the visitor spend went to the tourism industry, while 80 percent went to the wider community.

Places like grocery stores and cafes benefited handsomely from tourism, he said.

Without funding for the next three years – the period in the council was considering cutting its spend – total visitor expenditure in Hawke’s Bay could be expected to decrease by about 20 percent, or $250 million a year, endangering businesses.

Hickton said the industry had been pushing for some time for a national solution to the funding of regional tourism.

“We already know that people like Airbnb are quite prepared to look at some kind of levy system on accommodation, but they’ll only do it on a national basis.”

Another solution was for the government to fund regional tourism directly, he said.

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