Our region’s economy has long depended on five key industries, often referred to as the four fingers – fishing, forestry, fruit and farming – and a thumb – tourism.
We have taken one blow after another over the past four months with storms in June and July wreaking havoc in our orchards, farms and forests, then the confirmed closure of the Carter Holt Harvey sawmill in Eves Valley and the proposed closure of Sealord’s fish coating factory. The recovery of these sectors will take time. Tourism offers the greatest immediate opportunities for recovery.
Tasman Mayor Tim King and I wrote to the Minister for Tourism Louise Upston last month seeking urgent support for the rebuild of the 200km Great Taste Cycle Trail that took a hammering in the storms. This trail contributes $34 million a year to the Nelson-Tasman tourism sector.
We are relieved and thankful for the announcement last Friday of $1.6 million from Government for the repairs. The Trail Trust has been working hard on fixing the trail and has 85% reopened. This funding will ensure the complete trail is opened by Christmas albeit with the section between Wakefield and Belgrove rerouted.
Minister Upston also heeded our call for support for domestic tourism promotion, providing a $50k boost for our efforts to get Aucklanders, Wellingtonians and Cantabrians to take a holiday in our region. We are different to many tourism areas in that about 70% of our business comes from domestic visitors. We are a popular destination for Kiwis, reinforced by the latest domestic visitor survey data in July showing our top ranking at 8.9 out of 10 in overall satisfaction.
The Government further boosted tourism at the weekend with a $70 million new events and tourism investment package. We need to leverage off these funds and attract more events to Nelson.
We have the Nelson Arts Festival in late October, the NZ Cider Festival and Black Caps T20 cricket in November, The Spectacle running festival in December, the Adam Chamber Music Festival in January-February and Marchfest in late March, celebrating our craft beers. We need your support for these events, including inviting family and friends to our region to help our economic recovery.
