Whitestone City changes tipped
TOURISM attraction Whitestone City’s business plan may need a rethink if it is going to be a commercial success in the future, Tourism Waitaki’s new boss says.
A joint venture between Tourism Waitaki and the Oamaru Whitestone Civic Trust with support from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the Victorianera themed attraction opened in Harbour St in May last year.
While there has been a steady stream of visitors through the doors since it opened, revenue was lower than expected, Tourism Waitaki’s report for the first half of the 201718 financial year showed.
Whitestone City earned $34,584 for the sixmonth period ending December 31 against a budgeted figure of $140,000.
The report said the budget set was ‘‘ambitious’’ and in hindsight, did ‘‘not allow enough time to fully develop our international trade partners’’.
It went on to say the organisation had ‘‘faith in the product’’, which was reiterated by Tourism Waitaki general manager Margaret Munro.
Mrs Munro, who started in her role on March 12, said the projected budget was better suited to an established business that had operated for ‘‘three or four years’’ as opposed to one that had been open for under a year.
While she had not yet had an opportunity to look closely at Whitestone City’s business operations, she believed an overhaul may be required in the near future.
‘‘It has to be worth visiting, it has to have value and it has to be worth the spend. It has to have its own story and strength enough to be a drawcard for people to decide to go there.
‘‘Are you running a business in a serious capacity to make a good sustainable income and have a reliable, consistent product which is open when people are there?
‘‘There’s a big difference between running a hobbyist business with a couple of people to moving to an operational tourism business which is open continuously and reliably with more staff . . . it’s a huge step.’’
She planned to explore how it could boost revenue to become more sustainable, which also included a marketing review.
Whitestone City’s performance meant Tourism Waitaki’s likely yearend financial position had been reassessed, the report said.
It had budgeted for a financial surplus of $143,637, but had now revised that to a deficit of about $120,000.