New deal to see extended i-SITE
‘‘"With the DoC Whakapapa Visitor Centre being amongst the top three busiest in NZ attracting around 180,000 visitors a year, the two i-SITE staff have had an extremely busy summer."’’
A new deal has been signed between the Department of Conservation and the Visitor Centre at Whakapapa after a nine month trial proved to be a success.
The Whakapapa i-SITE has been operating as a satellite of the Ohakune i-SITE, employing two full time consultants. It has now been extended for a further three years.
Ruapehu i-SITE manager Kim Treen said the trial had gone well for everyone involved including visitors and tourists.
‘‘With the DoC Whakapapa Visitor Centre being amongst the top three busiest in NZ attracting around 180,000 visitors a year, the two i-SITE staff have had an extremely busy summer.’’
She said the Whakapapa i-SITE is providing an important contribution toward Council’s support of local tourism operators.
‘‘Having the trained i-SITE staff and systems available within the Visitor Centre and being able to provide these services on the spot significantly enhances the visitor experience for everyone’s benefit.’’
An analysis of the first six months of operations from June to December 2016 showed over half or 52 percent of all sales were for local Ruapehu tourism operators with an average value of over $7,000 per month.
That jumped to 60 percent of all sales worth over $14,000 in January 2017.
‘‘Over the last three years total i-SITE revenue has more than doubled by 63 per cent and is forecast to reach 800,000 this financial year which is a 30 per cent increase on the year before.’’
The success of Ruapehu’s i-SITE network showed tourism and visitor services were identified as offering great prospects for increasing investment, employment and income to the district.
‘‘Ruapehu has a number of comparative advantages in tourism and visitor services.
‘‘However, council recognises that if we are going to convert these local advantages into growth and especially jobs we need to provide opportunities for established businesses to grow here.’’