Council’s new camping team ‘breath of fresh air’ at lakes’ sites
Complaints were down and the thumbs were up for the Waimate District Council’s handling of the 2021-22 camping season at its sites in the Waitaki Valley, although the operation continues to lose money.
The council’s parks and reserves manager, Alison Banks, in a report to be tabled at a council workshop today, said the biggest improvement noted was dog control.
‘‘Campers were informed (verbally and signage) that dogs must be on leads at all times while walking through the campgrounds and in a secure compound at individual camp sites.’’
Banks said a handful of people had to be reminded that their pet needed to be on a lead when walking through the grounds, ‘‘but overall the rule was being implemented by the majority’’.
There was praise for ‘‘how great the toilet blocks looked due to the terra flake floors and the cleaning of the facilities, the refuge stations and recycling systems in place and how great the new staff were, how they engaged with the campers and how they dealt with issues immediately and professionally’’.
‘‘The team organised and ran a number of activities for children which included dressing up as Santa and driving around the sites giving children sweets, and there were rock painting activities and games to name a few.’’
Banks said the council’s administration team reported ‘‘the new team were just a breath of fresh air’’ and that they found that the communication between the office and supervisor team was fantastic this year.
‘‘They also noted a noticeable drop in complaints from campers about facilities not being clean, disputes over camp sites etc, all of which we attribute to the great job that the new staff were doing.
‘‘There was in fact a noticeable increase in compliments received.’’
Season ticket sales were up by 16 to 563. Of those tickets, 159 were bought by Waitaki residents, 137 to South Canterbury residents (not including the Waimate District which bought 73), 102 to Otago residents and 72 to Canterbury residents.
The Waitangi camping sites were the most popular with more than half the season tickets sold for sites at Waitangi East and West, an average of 1220 people.
There were 1301 casual tickets sold throughout the season, a total of 2865 overnight stays. Only 5% were from the Waimate District and 22% from throughout Otago. There were overseas visitors noted and 4% coming from the North Island.
Sites running at a loss
For all the positives though, the report reveals the camping activity has been running at a loss for the past three seasons.
Expenses over income saw a deficit of $42,687 to March 31, 2022, an increase of $3041 from the previous season. The reserve balance at June 30, 2021, was $686,486.
‘‘A breakdown of forecast expenses to June 30, 2022, estimates the activity is operating 36% over the income being generated,’’ Banks said.
‘‘An increase in fees and charges (up $20 for a season pass) and carefully managing operating costs should see an improvement, however the rising cost of fuel, etc, may have a negative impact on rubbish and waste removal and will also need to be carefully monitored.
‘‘Now that we have a better understanding of where campers are coming from, a targeted promotion campaign will be designed with the aim to attract more campers from those areas.
‘‘This will run in line with the ability to purchase tickets earlier than past seasons starting mid-July 2022,’’ Banks said.
The 2022/23 camping season is planned for September 17, 2022 to May 6, 2023.