Government helping Northland communities manage growing tourism
Thursday 17 May 2007, 2:50PM
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Tourism Minister Damien O'Connor visited Tutukaka today and presented a cheque to help pay for infrastructure in the town.
The Government grant, worth $1,297,639, to the Whangarei District Council, comes from the Tourism Demand Subsidy Scheme, an $11 million fund set up in 2004 to help small communities fund water and wastewater infrastructure needed to sustain growing tourist numbers.
Mr O'Connor said: "I am delighted this wastewater scheme is now in operation and that the Government was able to contribute to its funding, along with local ratepayers and businesses."
The Government is committed to ensuring sustainable tourism development, and the subsidy scheme has been a valuable part of that, Mr O'Connor said.
"Rapid growth in tourism can place pressure on smaller communities, particularly where rating bases are small, such as here in Tutukaka. The investment needed to build infrastructure to meet the needs of visitors as well as locals can be much higher per capita than in larger cities. "
Associate Tourism Minister Dover Samuels said the grant would help the area develop into a world-class tourism attraction.
"Complimentary activities in the area such as the Poor Knights Marine reserve, the Waikato and Tui dive wrecks on Tutukaka's doorstep, along with the HMNZS Canterbury soon to be sunk at Deep Water Cove in the Bay of Islands, and the Rainbow Warrior at Matauri Bay all combine to make this stretch of water a very tempting choice for divers to come and experience."
New Zealand is forecast to receive an extra 17 million international and domestic visitor nights by 2012, and regardless of the added demand visitors will still expect hot showers, clean drinking water, and functional toilets.
The Government grant, worth $1,297,639, to the Whangarei District Council, comes from the Tourism Demand Subsidy Scheme, an $11 million fund set up in 2004 to help small communities fund water and wastewater infrastructure needed to sustain growing tourist numbers.
Mr O'Connor said: "I am delighted this wastewater scheme is now in operation and that the Government was able to contribute to its funding, along with local ratepayers and businesses."
The Government is committed to ensuring sustainable tourism development, and the subsidy scheme has been a valuable part of that, Mr O'Connor said.
"Rapid growth in tourism can place pressure on smaller communities, particularly where rating bases are small, such as here in Tutukaka. The investment needed to build infrastructure to meet the needs of visitors as well as locals can be much higher per capita than in larger cities. "
Associate Tourism Minister Dover Samuels said the grant would help the area develop into a world-class tourism attraction.
"Complimentary activities in the area such as the Poor Knights Marine reserve, the Waikato and Tui dive wrecks on Tutukaka's doorstep, along with the HMNZS Canterbury soon to be sunk at Deep Water Cove in the Bay of Islands, and the Rainbow Warrior at Matauri Bay all combine to make this stretch of water a very tempting choice for divers to come and experience."
New Zealand is forecast to receive an extra 17 million international and domestic visitor nights by 2012, and regardless of the added demand visitors will still expect hot showers, clean drinking water, and functional toilets.