Submission focus criticised

A SUBMISSION on the future of Dunedin’s tourism industry misses the mark and is disappointing, one Dunedin city councillor says, even though she voted to approve it.

The national Tourism Futures Taskforce, set up by the Government, sought feedback on the strengths of, and challenges faced by, the tourism sector and what the future of the industry might look like.

The Dunedin City Council’s submission was discussed and approved at its meeting on Tuesday, but not before Cr Sophie Barker expressed her dissatisfaction.

Cr Barker wanted the submission to focus more on sustainability and reflect the views of the city’s tourism industry.

‘‘We had a chance with this to be a bit visionary about what the future of tourism could be, and I’m disappointed we didn’t utilise the opportunity.’’

The council needed to reconsider the tourism sector and whether it wanted to go back to the way it was preCovid19, she said.

She had read other submissions and noted they discussed the importance of sustainable practice, sustainable funding and sustainable infrastructure.

‘‘There needed to be a stronger sustainability focus [in the council’s submission], not just about being green but business sustainability.

‘‘Tourism had a cataclysmic shock [in the wake of Covid19].’’

She was disappointed to hear there had been no external engagement with tourism groups in Dunedin or internal engagement with the council’s policy team.

The council’s submission said accessible data, sustainability and communityled plans were of high importance in the next 10 to 15 years.

City marketing manager Malcolm Anderson said consultation opened in early September, and given the short timeframe staff were unable to formally consult with groups in the tourism industry prior to submitting.

There would be a further opportunity to consult on the tourism taskforce in December, he said.

All councillors voted to approve the submission.

Cr Barker said she voted in favour of the submission as the deadline to submit was yesterday.