Report a gateway to city’s tourism future

A variety of experiences and sights are accessible in Dunedin within a short drive.

Picturesque and captivating, Dunedin should be managed as a visitor destination in a way that benefits its people, treasures and environment, a new plan says. Grant Miller reports.

Imagery has yet to be selected to illustrate Dunedin’s new destination management plan and, when it is, it seems likely the centrepiece will not be a tourism attraction.

Instead, it will be hard to go past Ko te Tūhono, a sculpture that stands in the Octagon, in the heart of Dunedin.

Artist Ayesha Green has described it as a gateway that references ancestral ties and links to the landscape and harbour, and the plan picks up on the theme.

"We invite our manuhiri (visitors and guests) to enter our world."

What is signalled there is a shift in emphasis.

The draft plan presented to the Dunedin City Council’s economic development committee this week was accompanied by a staff report, which observed destination management before 2020 had a visitor-driven focus.

The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted international travel and inspired some reflection about what tourism might best look like as it rebounded.

Values of host communities, including mana whenua, took on more prominence and aspects of mass tourism were questioned. Structural issues, such as workforce pay, availability of labour and environmental limits, were amplified.

There has been some reassessment and recognition of the need for balance, but the distinctiveness of Dunedin as a destination has remained fairly clear.

"Ōtepoti Dunedin has an extraordinary portfolio of visitor assets born of its early settlement and inspiring natural, cultural, social and economic heritage," it is stated in the plan.

Its charms include its varied natural setting of the harbour, beaches and hills, complemented by wildlife, the city’s reputation as a mecca for education, artistic endeavour and heritage architecture.

"The opportunity for Ōtepoti Dunedin as a visitor destination is to unlock the value of this portfolio, to share our unique stories, and to extend the visitor offering to deliver enduring value that will enrich and sustain our communities, taoka and environment."

It was clarified at the committee meeting, the destination management plan was neither an action nor marketing plan. It was a high-level guide and much of the emphasis was on getting things right behind the scenes.

As deputy mayor Sophie Barker put it, the red carpet had to be vacuumed.

Both at the meeting and within the document, some misgivings were raised about the cruise industry.

"Consideration should be given to exploring the consequences of capping cruise ship visits to the city," a section of the plan about environmental practises said.

Broadly, natural disasters and climate change were identified as risks that required managing and others included "over-promising" and "too many visitors eroding quality of experience and impacting environments".

Strategic opportunities included managing growth and development within ecological limits, partnering with mana whenua in active recognition of the Treaty of Waitangi and celebrating the city’s rich natural, cultural and built heritage.

"This plan has been developed to shape a future where there is balance between optimising the benefits of having a visitor economy and mitigating the burdens that can arise when visitor populations are not paying their way or respecting the values of host communities and our environment."

Steve Walker, Kevin Gilbert, Christine Garey and Carmen Houlahan were among the city councillors who enthused Dunedin had much to be proud of.

Economic development committee chairman Andrew Whiley said much had been learnt in the past few years and Dunedin Mayor Jules Radich said the plan was a guide to the way ahead.

The plan replaced one from 2017 and cost $330,000 to develop, paid for by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s strategic tourism asset protection programme.

Key contributors included Enterprise Dunedin, a steering group set up in 2021, Business South and Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki and Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou representatives.

It was likened to the start of a journey.

"Through this plan, we view destination management as a shared journey — one that will be navigated using our collective resources, experience and wisdom."

Ko te Tūhono, introduced to the Octagon in 2021, was described as a doorway of different dimensions.

"As a waharoa, or gateway, it reflects Ōtepoti Dunedin’s past and present.

"It anchors us to the wisdom of the past, while also inviting us to journey towards a new vision — or a new destination."

The vision

"Growing the value of our visitor economy to the benefit of the wider Ōtepoti Dunedin area, and partnering to protect and enhance our environments, taoka and communities."

At a glance

- The tourism industry contributed $276 million towards gross domestic product in Dunedin in 2022. This amounted to 3.7% of the city’s output in 2022, up from 3.4% 10 years ago.

- The tourism sector employed about 4700 people in Dunedin last year.

- Before Covid-19, about 5000 international students and high school pupils from overseas studied in Dunedin each year, contributing about $200 million in economic value to the city.

Insights

A survey shows:

96% of Dunedin residents interviewed think domestic tourism is good for New Zealand and Dunedin.

89% support international tourism.

80% of these residents indicate they have experienced some negative impact of tourism in their area — such as litter and waste, and pressures on community infrastructure.