Northland Inc: A year since the tourism plan launch for Northland

Northland Inc has been working tirelessly behind the scenes towards boosting tourism and visitor experience across the region. Photo / NZME

OPINION

This week marks a year since the launch of the Tai Tokerau Northland Destination Management Plan (TNDMP).

One year of working towards enhancing the value of our visitor experiences across the region for the benefit of all those who call Tai Tokerau home now and in the future.

Instead of asking what you can do for tourism, we now ask what tourism can do for you.

So, through the TNDMP, what has tourism done for us, I hear you ask? This new, inclusive strategic approach supports participation across communities, industries, education, agencies, local and central government to link these separate elements for the better management of our place, Tai Tokerau Northland.

Significant progress has been made in the first year of the plan, with over 60 per cent of the actions identified in the TNDMP underway or near completion.

While there has been a noted lack of visitors over the past few years, particularly our international visitors, these actions have been focused on readying the industry for their return and how as an industry we can be and do better.

The visitor industry, with Northland Inc facilitating, has embarked on a Responsible Tourism Journey. This journey looks at how tourism businesses can take purposeful steps towards sustainability and eventually regeneration across social, cultural, economic and environmental well-being.

Waste management, measuring carbon, getting involved with the community and environmental projects and how to ensure your staff play their part are some of the topics that have been covered so far.

Engagement in this initiative has been pleasing, with over 50 businesses coming together to workshop how everyone in the industry can play their part in generating change.

On behalf of the visitor industry, Northland Inc has been part of the Tai Tokerau Predator Free Collective, working alongside DoC as to how tourism businesses can contribute to the Predator Free 2050 goal.

Queenstown Resort College (QRC), which has a campus in Paihia, this month relaunched its Ambassador programme.

Local iwi and hapū have been engaged in these workshops, with the space to tell local stories and share the places and stories they have kaitiakitanga of, with the overall purpose of the programme to help create ambassadors who can connect with people and authentically engage with what all New Zealanders understand as manaakitanga.

Significant product development has been undertaken in the first year of the plan, including the launch of the Tai Tokerau Northland Food & Beverage Action Plan, three new Northland Journeys maps, and the Aotearoa New Zealand Histories Educational Programmes.

All three of these initiatives look to encourage visitors to travel deeper into the region, reaching communities outside our visitor hotspots while hoping to encourage travel outside of the peak summer period, which will help create more-sustainable employment and consistent economic benefits throughout the region.

The shift to Destination Management won't happen overnight and will continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of our communities, iwi and hapū, and other stakeholders.

Moving forward, the focus of the plan is around continuing momentum for regional collaboration and support of initiatives and securing funding to implement actions and generate tangible change for the region.

To find out more about the Tai Tokerau Northland Destination Management Plan go to: northlandnz.com/destination-management-plan/

Amy Simpkin is Destination Management Plan portfolio support at Northland Inc, the region's Economic Development Agency