Carolyn Lewis told Waitaki district councillors that while the council had previously said it would reinstate visitor information services elsewhere in an existing cultural facility, there was ‘‘no assessment’’ of what that would look like.
‘‘With 36,000 visitors through our doors [Whitestone City] last year, our role isn’t something that can be added on to existing staff at other facilities or businesses that have their own work to do.
‘‘Budget cuts and uncertainty from year to year has made it difficult to initiate long-term relationships.
‘‘It’s also made it harder to market Whitestone City to tour companies except with itineraries 12-18 months in advance,’’ she said.
Despite this, word-of-mouth, good foot traffic and connections with other businesses and allies had allowed it to grow the income from Whitestone City, until it was almost a third of what was needed to run ‘‘the entire operation of 12 Harbour St’’.
The remaining two thirds of the budget required for visitor service delivery remained less than the funding regional tourism organisation Tourism Waitaki had received each year for the service before 2020, Ms Lewis said.
The Oamaru and Waitaki Visitor Information Centre, which includes heritage hub Whitestone City, in the historic precinct, closed recently after the council stopped its funding.
A final 10 months of financial support was announced in last year’s long-term plan.
The ‘‘operating budget’’ for the centre annually would be $200,000 although this did not allow for repairs, marketing or maintenance.
‘‘Economic development is not just about finding new projects, it’s about supporting and growing what we already have,’’ Ms Lewis told elected representatives on Tuesday as she sought funding as part of this year’s annual plan.
Mayor Mel Tavendale said the council would consider her application for funding in upcoming discussions about the plan.
Cr Dan Lewis asked whether a ‘‘friends of Whitestone City’’ scenario could work where people could donate $120 monthly to help.
Ms Lewis proposed that the service at 12 Harbour St, in conjunction with Whitestone City, seven days a week, 352 days a year, continue for less than what the council had been funding Tourism Waitaki in previous years for the service.
She said they had also collected ‘‘plenty’’ of visitor and behavioural statistics but that no-one at the council or Tourism Waitaki had been interested in sharing that.
A council spokesman said previously the council was exploring ways to offer similar tourism information services at its existing cultural facilities or at the Oamaru Blue Penguin Colony, at a lower cost to ratepayers.
