The Oamaru and Waitaki Visitor Centre is on the move.
It was a ‘‘win-win for the council, and community and civic trust’’, Mr Kircher said.
Tourism Waitaki had been running an independent information centre service from the council-owned building it leases at the corner of Thames and Itchen Sts since October last year, after closing the former Oamaru iSite under a restructure amid the Covid-19 crisis.
It had been closed since June for the winter season.
During the last tourist season, visitor numbers at Whitestone City were higher than numbers at the visitor centre, Mr Kircher said.
‘‘People were finding their way [to Whitestone City] and going in, so having more information, about more things they can do, and reasons to stay longer, will be good,’’ he said.
Mr Kircher said there could be an opportunity to rent out former information centre space as a separate tenancy.
‘‘So that will help also with the financial situation for Tourism Waitaki, so there is that benefit for them,’’ he said.
‘‘It will allow them to focus more on promotion, as well.’’
Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust chairman Graeme Clark said it was an exciting opportunity for the trust, Whitestone City and the Harbour St area and he was optimistic for the new tourist season.
The trust hoped to be running the information centre service seven days a week from Labour Weekend.
Whitestone City co-ordinator Carolyn Lewis said the heritage experience would still run as normal.
‘‘It’s just adding another string to the bow, really, and creating a bit of a hub in that area and also showcasing Waitaki,’’ she said.
She believed Whitestone City in Harbour St was an ‘‘ideal location’’ for an information centre service.
‘‘It’s a welcome to Oamaru, to give you a bit of an overview of what’s around and the Waitaki and then sending people out there with information.’’
Whitestone City would adapt the service to suit the needs of visitors, and work closely with Wendy Simpson, at Rose’s General Store and Information, who had been providing visitor information while the Thames St information centre was closed.
Tourism Waitaki general manager Margaret Munro wished the civic trust ‘‘all the best in getting the service off the ground for this summer’’.
The council had removed the requirement for Tourism Waitaki to provide information services from its contract last year, and no staff were affected by the service being moved to Whitestone City, Mrs Munro said.
‘‘Our staff resources are very busy with additional work streams from the contracts we have with [the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment] such as destination marketing, the new regional events fund, and re-connecting with off-shore markets ahead of the borders reopening, along with normal operations of managing the penguin colony and promotion and marketing of the district.’’
Whitestone City was created as an interactive tourism attraction in a joint venture between the Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust and Tourism Waitaki, with support from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, and opened in May 2017.
Tourism Waitaki closed it on March 20 last year, citing financial losses and the impact of Covid-19, but it was reopened by the civic trust on a volunteer basis in July last year.
Since December, it has been staffed by paid casual workers, with contributions from visitors on a ‘‘pay what you think it’s worth’’ basis covering staff costs.
