Hawke’s Bay Tourism disparaged over less growth in Maori tourism

Hawke’s Bay Tourism disparaged over less growth in Maori tourism

Published on : Thursday, December 13, 2018

Yesterday at the Hawke’s Bay Regional Council’s corporate and strategic committee meeting, Toro Waaka, committee member stated that there needed to be better accountability as to where the funding was going.

Also, Waaka is a director of New Zealand Māori Tourism, and chair of Hawke’s Bay Māori Tourism.

“What strategy have you got to engage with Māori, and what are the key performance indicators that you have to do so, and who are you engaging with?” Toro asked representatives of Hawke’s Bay Tourism at the meeting.

He mentioned that Māori made up approximately 20 percent of the Hawke’s Bay population, and as a result, 20 percent of the funding should be directed into growing Māori tourism.

Waaka told Bay Today that he is keen to witness the support for current Māori tourism operators to grow, for instance, the operators who manage waka tours on the Clive River and the estuary.

He wanted to look into the performance indicators so there was a level of accountability as to where exactly the public money is going.

“It’s very cavalier to be giving away money to people and not having performance indicators.”

Hawke’s Bay Tourism general manager Annie Dundas informed Hawke’s Bay Today the body is a marketing agency.

“So our job is to get visitors to Hawke’s Bay to experience our tourism experiences and stories. This includes all visitor experiences that deliver for visitors.”