The first of two forums focusing on the events industry will be held in Queenstown this week, run by Shaping Our Future, following forums held in 2011.
SoF chairman David Kennedy said the first district-wide forums resulted in a suite of recommendations, including one to the Queenstown Lakes District Council to establish a ‘‘Lakes District Events Office''.
It was now time to look at reassessing the ‘‘baseline'' to see if the community was ‘‘heading in the right direction'' - where the events industry was now, where the pressure points were, opportunities and ‘‘where ...we want to be in 50 years'', Mr Kennedy said.
The forums, being held in Queenstown this Thursday and Wanaka next Thursday, will identify key priority issues to be addressed in the short-to-medium term with a new task force to be formed, producing a new strategy report with key recommendations.
‘‘The events industry has grown and changed within the last five years.
‘‘Every member of our community will have at some stage participated in, organised, volunteered, helped fund or been impacted by an event, whether it is a small local community or cultural occasion or a large international event.
‘‘The key to our forum and task force report success is to have industry and community get together to create, and agree on, their own long-term future.''
●The Queenstown event will be held from 5.30pm on Thursday at the Queenstown Memorial Centre's supper room, with the Wanaka forum being held from 7pm at the Lake Wanaka Centre's Armstrong Room on April 28.
To register, email executive@shapingourfuture.org.nz or call 021 222-123.
