Last week Waitaki District Council adopted its destination management plan, aiming to ensure the district’s people, environment, economy and culture all benefit from growing numbers of visitors.
Tourism Waitaki general manager Philippa Agnew said the plan was timely given the way tourism in Waitaki was rebounding.
"It’s good to see it coming back," Dr Agnew said.
"[The plan] is a way to identify what we’ve got and what we can build on."
The Destination Management Plan (DMP) outlines a 30-year vision and strategies to guide tourism development throughout the region.
"Our DMP is very different from the likes of Queenstown. They were facing issues of over-tourism whereas our district could grow in terms of what we can offer, Dr Agnew said.
Unique attractions in Waitaki include the Geopark, the Alps to Ocean cycle trail and the Penguin Colony.
Dr Agnew said the aim was to increase the number of visitor attractions, the number of visitors and the length of time visitors spent in the area.
"[We’re] aiming to have the tourism industry be more sustainable for the district by having more for people to do."
She said visitor numbers had already risen since the low point during Covid-induced border closures and lockdowns.
Before Covid, one-third of Waitaki’s visitors were from China.
Dr Agnew said that was increasing again.
"Chinese visitors are definitely coming back in larger numbers post-April this year when Covid restrictions were lifted [in] China."
Geopark manager Lisa Heinz, Tourism Waitaki marketing specialist Ace Liu and Tourism Waitaki team leader Georgie Catto recently attended Trenz, New Zealand’s largest international tourism business event.
The team met with Chinese inbound operators to reconnect with the market that brings large numbers of people to the district.
Tourism Waitaki is now seeing more groups coming into Oamaru.
"That market is very important for the town," Dr Agnew said.
In August, 2615 people visited the Otago Blue Penguin Colony.
Half of the visitors were from mainland China.
"It’s swinging back to where we were. August has been really busy," Dr Agnew said.
Dr Agnew expects to see an influx of Chinese tourists around Golden Week — a Chinese public holiday that, this year, will be in the first week of October — and also at Christmas, New Year and the Chinese New Year, in February.
"We’re back to seeing China as our strongest market."
There has also been increased interest in Oamaru and Waitaki from television and film production companies.
Australian breakfast show Sunrise, with an audience of up to 1.3 million, chose the district out of several options pitched to it by Tourism New Zealand.
"They identified the uniqueness of the district and the town," Dr Agnew said.
"They were stoked ... They had a really great day here, that was thanks to all those operators who helped out."
An end to government Covid mandates this week means film and television crews will have fewer restrictions when filming in the district.
Recently, production crews have been in the district to film for Country House Hunters, NZ Today, and the Disney film Mulan.
This week a commercial is being filmed on Harbour St for Michael Hill Jewellers.
"There seems to have been a lot in succession. It maybe a bit of a coincidence, but it probably does relate to the work that has been going on with Tourism Waitaki," Dr Agnew said.
