
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) commissioned the Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs) to develop Destination Management Plans as part of a strategic initiative to enhance the country’s tourism sector. These DMPs serve as comprehensive blueprints for sustainable tourism development, outlining goals, strategies, and actions to promote regional growth and competitiveness.
This Destination Management Development Plan (DMDP) for the Waitaki District (the District) sets a framework that will enable Waitaki’s visitors and communities to be connected and see that the District’s environment flourishing and the Waitaki is thriving.
This DMDP is written as a “road map” to rally purpose, concentrate effort and inform all stakeholders of what the tourism development opportunities are for Waitaki. It builds on initial work undertaken by Tourism Waitaki, which created the building blocks for this DMDP including extensive community consultation. This determined how community, manawhenua and the tourism sector could work collaboratively, to ensure sustainable and desirable outcomes are able to be achieved for the visitor economy moving forward.
While Destination Management is an ongoing process, the short-term goal is to ensure the Waitaki is positioned to be a sustainable destination, where tourism could shift into a regenerative model that gives-back to the environment, communities, the economy, and the culture.
Stakeholders and partners involved in developing the DMDP include Waitaki District Council, Te Rūnanga o Moeraki, Huirapa Rūnanga ki Puketeraki, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), Department of Conservation (DOC), and Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency, Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), and representatives of the business, farming, tourism sectors and neighbouring regions.