I-Site funding cut ‘short-sighted’
Council decision comes at crucial time for tourism
Waipā District Council has removed $315,000 per annum of funding for i-Sites from the draft budget in response to the decision of the Service Delivery Committee at its meeting on December 5.
The council does say, however, that $65,000 has been included in the draft budget for Council online visitor promotional activity. The council did not provide any other information or take the invitation to respond to the following story.
Te Awamutu i-Site manager Bea Schiller says the Waipā District Council’s decision to stop funding Destination Te Awamutu and Destination Cambridge, which operate the i-Sites in each town, at this crucial time of recovery for tourism in New Zealand is a short-sighted move.
Shiller says there is an ongoing demand for the services of i-Sites as tourism remains one of the largest economic factors in New Zealand.
“Our i-Site and the staff are an ambassador for Te Awamutu, the Waipā and Waikato regions,” she says.
“I-Sites influence the decisionmaking of visitors as they are seen as an impartial information source with in-depth local knowledge.
“An important point, often forgotten, is that a lot of international visitors are not fluent in English and prefer to have a face-to-face conversation with someone who has the experience and knowledge to explain things in a way they understand.”
Shiller says this is true even in the age of the internet and people still strongly rely on “in-person” information because it is not always easy to research and book online, especially specific local information.
She adds that older tourists, who generally spend more money on holidays than young travellers, often prefer i-Sites to get information rather than doing online research.
Another crucial aspect of i-Site work is supporting the local economy.
Shiller says Te Awamutu i-Site promotes and refers visitors to local businesses, guiding them to spend locally instead of somewhere else.
“This contributes to the economy of the town and wider region and brings benefits to Te Awamutu and the region.
“During the last financial year, we averaged four requests per day for information on local businesses, restaurants and cafes and accommodation providers from potential customers.
“Without our local promotion, the visitors will potentially drive on to Hamilton in the future.”
The centre is the hub for transport, with local and national bus services stopping nearby and the i-Site providing timetable information and selling tickets.
They also sell and top up the Bee Card which can be used for local transport and in some other regions of New Zealand.
A top-up from the i-Site is immediately available for use, as opposed to an online top-up which can take up to 24 hours to be credited to the card.
Shiller says the popularity of the cards is increasing, especially among Gold Card and Community Services Card holders, and i-Site staff are experienced at helping people with their applications.
The i-Site is also involved in large events, both to provide information and assistance and to help raise money to fund the operation.
Every year the i-Site sells tickets to National Fieldays and provides information regarding transport, parking and daily programmes to visitors.
The Annual Craft Fair has been organised and managed solely by i-Site staff for 26 years.
The community event is estimated to bring about 10,000 visitors to the town centre and to provide a healthy economic impact for craftspeople and retailers.
Other services include local ticket sales for shows and concerts, a favourite for people who like to avoid extra online fees, sales of trip packages, sales of souvenirs and crafts, with a focus on local and regional creations, and hiring the Burchell Pavilion to community groups and private hirers. I-Site New Zealand recently identified the important role the i-Site network played in New Zealand’s tourism recovery.
In October i-Site New Zealand executive manager and industry relations manager at Tourism New Zealand Paul Yeo reported New Zealand tourism trade was running at 70 per cent of the level pre-Covid.
Based on statistics it is assumed it will take two more years to recover fully.
In the June 23 newsletter, the Tourism Export Council reported New Zealand visitor arrivals to the year ended April 2023 were at 60.8 per cent of 2019 numbers.
Their forecast to year-end June 2024 was a rise to 80.4 per cent and to the year-end June 2025 a return to 100 per cent of 2019 levels.
In July 2019 the Visitor Information Network Inc. board initiated a future network strategy to achieve a streamlined and improved network.
Covid slowed the final development of the strategy, but in May 2022 Tourism Minister Stuart Nash announced $2.975 million in funding over the next four years for brand and digital development and physical internal upgrade of 14 i-Sites based on a 50/50-member contribution.
Each site can apply for up to $200,000.
Shiller says four sites are already in construction and funding is still available for another 10.
Destination Te Awamutu had considered the fund would be suitable to assist with the relocation and upgrade of the Te Awamutu i-Site in line with discussions with the Waipā District Council around future amenities.
Councils and i-Sites can sign up to a non-binding agreement with the intention to apply to the fund before the financial year-end of 2026.