NP’s free activities conflict blogger
An international travel writer has labelled New Plymouth the best city in New Zealand but warned that free attractions were its Achilles heel.
In a recent blog post from Dan Flying Solo, blogger Daniel James said the Taranaki town was ‘‘without a doubt my favourite city in Aotearoa’’.
However, he also said Taranaki would struggle to own the secondbest region title if it did not prepare with proper infrastructure.
‘‘Whilst New Plymouth provides a great base I couldn’t help but feel if the people of Taranaki want to attract more tourism, their infrastructure needs to improve, which is where those money raising activities sure do come in handy,’’ he wrote.
The travel blogger admitted experiencing issues with transportation, nightlife and a lack of activities to draw in and retain visitors.
‘‘On one hand, it has some world class features the biggest of metropolis would be proud of. On another, and I kid you not, I checked a bus timetable on a Monday and the next one wasn’t until Friday.’’
Destinations like the Len Lye Centre and Pukekura Park were noted as impressive points of interest but also suppressed the city from competing with places like Rotorua or Queenstown because they were free. He said travellers of similar age, late-20s, wanted activities but these were supported by tax revenue.
‘‘This is an early to bed, early rise kind of city and it won’t break your bank to soak up on nature here, which after feeling like this country has gutted your bank account, and then some, is actually pretty refreshing.’’
The region’s three district councils have already started to collaborate on the upcoming Destination Strategy and Taranaki Regional Economic Development Strategy.