Tourism Minister Peeni Henare said Ruapehu's destination management plan aligns with the Government's aspirations for values-based sustainable year-round tourism. Photo / Bevan Conley
Tourism Minister Peeni Henare said Ruapehu's destination management plan aligns with the Government's aspirations for values-based sustainable year-round tourism. Photo / Bevan Conley
Tourism Minister Peeni Henare wants to see tourism jobs as a career pathway “rather than just seasonal jobs”.
And he hopes Ruapehu’s new destination management plan - Tahia Ko Puanga - can help achieve that.
Henare attended a lunch at Raetihi Marae to learn about the Pipiriki Hub, Future Ohakune, and Pōkākā Eco-sanctuary and visit the sanctuary site.
Speaking to the Chronicle, Henare praised the efforts of Ruapehu operators and the community for focusing on a values-based tourism plan.
“The pause in international tourism we experienced during the Covid pandemic has provided opportunities to switch the focus from the monetary value of tourism to the values of our communities and what they want to offer as tourism destinations,” Henare said.
“International tourism numbers have not returned to pre-Covid levels however individual visitors are spending more than they were before Covid and that is very encouraging.”
Henare said it was fantastic to see Ruapehu and other communities in Aotearoa incorporating their unique nature and culture in tourism initiatives.
He said the fact that Tahia Ko Puanga included the voices of around 800 local participants was wonderful.
“That’s what I like to call social license,” he said.
Henare said he was encouraged to learn that young people in the region were enthusiastic about the plan and vocational training was an integral part of it.
“We are facing workforce challenges and growing our own expertise and experience is the way we want to go.
“Young people need to be able to view tourism occupations as career pathways rather than just seasonal jobs.”
Minister Peeni Henare with mayor Weston Kirton and Ruapehu stakeholders at Raetihi Marae. Photo / Supplied
Visit Ruapehu’s Jo Kennedy said the minister’s visit was timely coming soon after the launch of the plan on March 27.
“Minister Henare was highly complimentary of Tahia Ko Puanga,” she said.
“We heard further detail on the Pipiriki Hub project from Adrian Pucher, the chairman of Pipiriki Incorporation, the Future Ohakune town revitalisation work from Ohakune Inc chairwoman Christine Hickman and the Pōkākā Ecosanctuary from Uenuku chairman Aiden Gilbert.”
Kennedy said the minister congratulated everyone involved in producing the plan for ensuring that it “had the community’s fingerprints on it”.
“He reiterated the Government’s support of regenerative tourism, of welcoming respectful visitors back to New Zealand in a way that communities, visitors, and the taiao [environment] prospered equally.”
Tahia Ko Puanga - Destination Plan 2023 can be viewed on the Visit Ruapehu website.
