The West Coast mayors were to meet urgently today to figure out a way forward for Tourism West Coast, which has lost a quarter of its funding and more under threat.
The Grey District Council has pulled its funding and has already reallocated the money to another project, while the Westland District Council has not included Tourism West Coast funding in its draft long-term plan.
Tourism West Coast itself has been fighting a Development West Coast "takeover" which had included DWC providing a full year's funding, after which the West Coast Regional Council was to collect the rates instead of the district councils.
However, that does not have the support of regional councillors, who have vowed to block the move.
Currently, Tourism West Coast is funded by $100,000 annually from the three district councils and DWC, which last year contributed an additional $25,000 for strategic marketing.
In March, fearing a DWC takeover, Tourism West Coast asked the tourism sector to "lobby your mayor, councils and councillors as soon as possible to ask them to seriously consider the long-term implications of the loss of independent district involvement in Tourism West Coast".
The Grey District Council has since withdrawn its funding, with the $100,000 reassigned to the creation of an events department and co-ordinator for Greymouth.
Grey District Mayor Tony Kokshoorn called an urgent meeting today with the other mayors to work out where to now.
Funders and potential funders would sit down to work out the way ahead. Tourism West Coast was not invited.
Mr Kokshoorn said with a meeting imminent with Regional Development Minister Shane Jones to bid for a share of the $1 billion provincial growth fund, everyone had to "get on the same page".
"There are issues around funding."
The move to put Tourism West Coast under DWC, signalled a year ago in the former National government's West Coast economic development action plan, had stalled.
Mr Kokshoorn said a line needed to be drawn.
"We need timelines, maybe temporary funding. We all value Tourism West Coast."
DWC chief executive Chris Mackenzie said today no one was panicking.
The last thing anyone wanted to do was to "kill the goose that laid the golden egg", he said.
They had to come up with something to allow the tourism body to continue.
Mr Mackenzie still favoured bringing it under the umbrella of DWC, as had happened all over New Zealand, and was being finalised currently in Christchurch, Nelson and Southland.
"It's current accepted practice that tourism is part of economic development."
DWC was moving towards economic development, he said.
With a regional population of 32,400, he asked if four councils and Development West Coast was not enough, noting that Minerals West Coast was already sharing an office with DWC.
- Laura Mills
