The Destination Management Guidelines are shared with industry stakeholders providing practical tools for supporting and developing the tourism economy in alignment with the New Zealand-Aotearoa Government Tourism Strategy.
A partnership is established between Queenstown Lakes District Council, Lake Wānaka Tourism and Destination Queenstown to develop a Destination Management Plan for the region as an output of the Whaiora | Grow Well Partnership (Spatial Plan).
Expert consultants in destination management are engaged at different stages to support the development of the regions Destination Management Plan, including Think Place, Proxima and Destination Think.
The Queenstown Lakes Spatial Plan is a vision and framework for how and where the communities of the wider Wakatipu and Upper Clutha can Grow Well and develop to ensure our social, cultural, environmental and economic prosperity.
Four full-day design forums were held with a diverse range of stakeholders, including community members, students, industry and municipality representatives. This was followed up with four local workshop sessions with the broader community in Glenorchy, Queenstown, Wānaka and Arrowtown. The July sessions improved community awareness of the regenerative potential of the visitor economy and began to capture the opportunities associated with regenerative tourism. The August sessions crystallised the purpose and vision for the Queenstown Lakes visitor economy, and examined the district’s story of place.
A half-day workshop was held with visitor economy businesses from across the district. Here, the vision and purpose of the visitor economy were tested and refined. The forum revealed operators’ ambitions, as well as barriers and levers for a regenerative future.
Over 60 individual one-hour interviews were conducted with stakeholders from the district and from a variety of national bodies. This improved awareness of the potential for regenerative tourism as well as further identify barriers and opportunities.
90 people attended this interactive three-hour session that included a panel discussion, keynote address and community workshop as part of WAO 2021. The goal was to test and critique themes of the draft plan. A visual communications board of the plan was made to move around the district and share the vision of the plan and the opportunity to give feedback.
A draft version of the plan was released for public comment. All input was analysed and considered as revisions to the plan were made.
A draft version of the plan was released for public feedback. All input was analysed and considered as revisions to the plan were made. In November the new draft of the plan was presented in a series of public stakeholder meetings. The keystone project for the Queenstown Lakes visitor economy to reach carbon zero by 2030 was socialised because of community feedback.
Queenstown Lakes shares its ambitious goal to become a carbon-zero visitor economy by 2030. This initiative followed extensive engagement with the community and stakeholders about the DMP and its ambitions.
Travel to a Thriving Future, the Queenstown Lakes Regenerative Tourism Plan was presented to Queenstown Lakes District Councillors. The Plan is unanimously endorsed and receives widespread support from Councillors, community and the tourism industry.
Destination Queenstown and Lake Wānaka Tourism establish two community funding platforms, Love Queenstown and Love Wānaka. The platforms will focus on raising funds to support localised climate, conservation, and biodiversity initiatives, accelerating the region’s shift to a regenerative carbon zero future and enabling visitors to positively impact Queenstown and Wānaka through their activities and experiences.
The Queenstown Lakes' Carbon Zero Discussion Paper presents research and analysis that will influence the creation of a roadmap to guide decarbonisation across the region. The paper invites feedback on decarbonisation initiatives, methodology, findings and further solutions.
Destination Queenstown and Lake Wānaka Tourism integrate projects from the DMP into their respective Business Plans for FY23/24, acknowledging the vital role that RTOs play in both destination management and marketing.
ORGANISATION
The board of directors for Destination Southern Lakes, the destination management organisation (DMO) for the Queenstown and Wānaka region, was announced. The DMO oversees the implementation of the region’s destination management plan, Travel to a Thriving Future.
A new RTO member capability programme launched, designed to support tourism businesses with both destination marketing and management skill development. The programme runs weekly workshops and trainings as well as offering online information and resources from subject matter experts.
DQ and the Queenstown Business Chamber of Commerce collaborate to hold the inaugural Electrifying Queenstown event which aimed to showcase and promote the transition to sustainable energy solutions within the Queenstown region.
A groundbreaking tourism project is launched to develop an optimal visitation model for the Queenstown Lakes region. Led by Griffith University, the research team includes Professors Susanne Becken, James Higham, and Oz Sahin, with support from Shane Vuletich of FreshInfo.
Aligning with the Spatial Plan reporting, the first DMP report is produced. The report indicates solid progress made in the first full year of the DMP across all projects. For further details refer to the Projects page.
