Photo by Pink Penguin Studio
Hump Ridge Track, Southland Murihiku
Approach
Before COVID-19, tourism was tracking well towards its goal of visitor spend reaching $1 billion by 2025. Reaching a high of $700m in 2020, with the closure of international borders it has been the most severely impacted sector but there is no doubt that it remains a key diversification opportunity for Southland Murihiku. The Southland Murihiku Destination Strategy 2019 – 2029 is the overall framework which guides how we develop, manage and promote the region as a visitor destination. It was reviewed 18 months ago and will now be reviewed again to ensure the successful recovery of this key diversification opportunity in a COVID-19 world.
Similar to how the first Strategy was successfully developed, an Advisory Group will be established to help guide the process to review the Strategy and achieve the outcomes of this workstream.
There will also be a key focus on understanding community sentiment towards this sector through research.
An inclusive consultation process involving the wider tourism sector and iwi will be facilitated which will inform the Strategy review. This will include a series of workshops which will focus on the key pillars of the Strategy – Governance, Infrastructure, Sustainability, Product Development, Marketing and Promotion.
Key Outcomes
An updated Southland Murihiku Destination Strategy which provides a clear pathway for the recovery of the tourism sector in the region . This framework will:
- Connect and provide context for other initiatives and planning currently underway including Milford Opportunities, Bluff Motupōhue 2020 Tourism Master Plan and Catlins Te Akau Tai Toka Tourism Strategy.
- Seek to align with developments in infrastructure, amenities and services which benefit both locals and visitors, including the Invercargill CBD rejuvenation, more flights to Invercargill and new hotels.
- Focus on the sustainable development and management of the Southland Murihiku destination considering decarbonisation efforts and climate change.
- Ensure the views of the region’s communities are understood and at the heart of the overall approach.
- Acknowledge and strengthen the valued partnership with mana whenua which will ensure the Southland Murihiku story is at the heart of any future approach.
Connection with other Workstreams:
The principles of this workstream will strongly underpin the overall Beyond 2025 Southland plan with close alignment to the following workstreams:
Retention and Attraction
Attract and retain people to the region by actively promoting Southland Murihiku as an attractive and vibrant place for people to live, work and play.
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Photo by Great South
Net Zero Southland
To support and enable Southland Murihiku to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
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Skilled Workforce Development
To ensure a joined-up approach to labour market planning which will see our workforce, education and immigration systems working together to better meet the differing workforce and skills needs in Southland Murihiku.
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