They might be small and, on the whole, rather unremarkable, but the little blue penguins of Oamaru are providing an interesting discussion point over the issue of local residents getting favourable access to tourist attractions.
Tourism Waitaki has announced it is scrapping its favourable summer rates for locals who wish to pass through the doors of the popular Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony or the fledgling Whitestone City attraction in historic Harbour St between October and March.
Previously, anyone offering proof of residency in the Waitaki district could access a ticket to premium penguin viewing — by far the most popular tourism activity in the district — for as little as $9. That will jump to the full $45 rate over summer.
The reaction, especially in the instant and emotional world of social media, has been fierce. Just another blow for loyal locals and ratepayers propping up tourist attractions. And, interestingly, also for a fair smattering of Waitaki residents who had no idea they had the opportunity to see penguins or faux-historic Oamaru on the cheap.
It has already been a rough year for the public image of Tourism Waitaki, the Waitaki District Council-owned organisation charged with attracting more tourists to the district and getting them to spend lots of money. In fact, this latest misstep, if it can be referred to as such, completes a treble of trip-ups under relatively new general manager Margaret Munro.
In May, Tourism Waitaki unexpectedly canned its support of Fire and Steam, the wildly popular gateway to Oamaru’s annual steampunk festival. That followed a wider review of the organisation’s financial stability — the reasoning being Tourism Waitaki was not typically the driver of community events.
"We are not a not-for-profit charity," Mrs Munro said at the time.
That decision was met with dismay by the community, members of which rallied around to keep Fire and Steam going for at least another year.
In August, Tourism Waitaki displayed a remarkable ability to back-track when it announced its i-SITE satellite office in Palmerston would, in fact, be closing, just days after pooh-poohing a report the office was a dead duck. That, too, was put down to commercial considerations.
This latest move is explained as a bid to deal with capacity issues, particularly at the penguin colony. The organisation said locals had the opportunity to go year-round; tourists might only be in town for one night — generally in the summer months — so they needed to be accommodated. Effectively, the hope seems to be that charging locals full whack will encourage them to take advantage of cheaper rates in the slower months.
Tourism Waitaki points to the low percentage (1.1%) of summer visitors to the penguin colony being Waitaki residents. But that seems to defeat its own argument. If so few locals are "taking" seats designed for tourists, what is the problem?
It also neglects to take into account the anecdotally high number of Waitaki residents who enjoy taking visitors to see the penguins as they, the locals, can get in so cheaply. Perhaps those locals are actually Tourism Waitaki’s greatest marketing tools?
The tourism industry has had much debate over the issue of price-gouging visitors to our shores, but there has been less discussion over whether attractions designed to pull in overseas dollars should be made as accessible as possible to people who have had to travel only a few minutes to get there.
Solid arguments can be made in instances like the penguin colony. Oamaru residents support the colony and Tourism Waitaki through their rates, after all.
As cruise ship season gets under way in Dunedin, it is timely to think about this issue. Tourism is big business, but that does not have to mean the little fellows need to be trampled in the rush.
