Council Long Term Plans
As you have seen and heard in our previous newsletters, events and general catch-ups, a key focus for HWT over the coming months is on the Long-Term Plan process, and the impact this will have on us, as an organisation, and in turn, you as our tourism industry and our wider communities.
We knew this year would be challenging with our six funding councils looking at their Long Term Plans (LTP) for the 2025-2035 period with all areas of the budget coming under close scrutiny, including funding allocated to HWT’s Service Level Agreement.
On this page you will find information about:
PROPOSED CUTS
A breakdown of the budget allocations and proposed cuts for HWT and our activities are as follows:
- Hamilton City Council is proposing a 50% cut
- Waipā District Council is proposing a 20% cut
- Waikato District Council is proposing a 50% cut
- Ōtorohanga District Council has not yet confirmed (their intention is to hold, pending the Economic Wellbeing Strategy they are currently undertaking)
- Waitomo District Council is proposing a 60% reduction
- Matamata-Piako District Council is proposing to hold their overall budget at current levels and we will apply for our portion of this budget through the LTP process.
Based on the above, these cuts could equate up to a 43% ($552,000) reduction of our current total operating budget of $1.3m, meaning a significant reduction in HWT services and workstreams. With our mahi being seriously diluted, there is potential this could lead to closure of the organisation, and a huge loss in the momentum that we have collectively built across tourism, events and business events as a sector.
Needless to say, this is extremely disappointing for us as an organisation, but also for our Waikato tourism whānau as we know from historical data, when the last Waikato RTO was closed down in 2006, this will have a detrimental impact on our regional visitation, expenditure and guest nights.
For more information on the negative impacts, please see our recent press release here.
SO HOW CAN YOU HELP?
Councils proposing cuts:
We encourage you to take the time to make a submission to your relevant council(s) in favour of mitigating any reductions. The more submissions we receive the more weight this gives to the issue and indicates to council this is something people care about, so every voice counts.
Councils proposing to hold current funding levels:
For those of you in Matamata-Piako or Ōtorohanga - while your councils are proposing to hold at their current funding levels which is fantastic, they definitely still need to hear from you, as all submissions (or and against) will be looked at.
We encourage everyone to have a say and if you would like assistance or supporting evidence for your submission in favour of retaining HWT’s current funding please do not hesitate to reach out.
Consultation and submission open dates vary by council. Please see below for dates and links to the submission process for each:
- Hamilton City:
- Consultation Period: 19 March – 21 April
- Hearings: 15 -17 May
- Matamata-Piako:
- Consultation Period: 21 March – 21 April
- Hearings: 8 May
- Waikato:
- Consultation Period: 25 March – 26 April
- Hearings: 14-17 May
- Ōtorohanga:
- Consultation Period: 28 March – 29 April
- Hearings: 6-8 May
- Waipā:
- Consultation Period: 5 April – 26 April
- Hearings: 20-21 May
- Waitomo:
- Consultation Period: 16 April – 17 May
- Hearings: 28 May
MAKING A SUBMISSION
Depending on the Council you are submitting to, the method varies. There are different types of online forms and hard copy forms – each of the Council’s websites will let you know what is available.
Where you can indicate your position on HWT’s funding will also vary in the submission form. If it’s not clear – just ask your local Council.
We encourage you to speak to your submission at the council hearings if you are able, we would truly welcome that support as it adds weight to the topic/issue, please do indicate this at the time of submission.
For any submission to be valid and counted by Council you must include:
- Your full name
- A postal address or email address
- Business name is optional but good to include
All submissions (including your name, address and contact details) are provided to Council staff and Elected Members for the purpose of analysing feedback. Your personal information will also be used for the administration of the engagement and decision-making process. Submissions (with the individual’s name and organisation only) will become publicly available online.
LTP SUBMISSION MESSAGES
How detailed you would like to be in your submission is entirely up to you. A range of messages have been provided below – you might choose to use these as a ‘pick’n’mix’ depending on what is relevant to you and your viewpoint. Naturally, if you prefer to write your own, fantastic!
For councils proposing cuts:
- Thank you for the opportunity to submit on the XX Council’s Long Term Plan (2025-2034).
Note: for Waipa or Waikato District Council it is called ‘Enhanced Annual Plan’ - I/We do not support the proposed LTP reduction in Hamilton & Waikato Tourism’s budget, and instead would support Council maintaining their current level of funding for the organisation. OR
- I/We do not support Council’s draft LTP decision to reduce Hamilton & Waikato Tourism’s budget by XX% and ask funding be reinstated at its current amount.
OR - I/We would like Council to reverse their draft LTP decision minimising funding to Hamilton & Waikato Tourism. I support Hamilton & Waikato Tourism retaining 100% of their current budget from Council.
If you would like to elaborate on this statement in your submission, you could then provide details about your business, why HWT is important, your relationship with us, and what you believe the negative impact of funding reductions for HWT means and/or what the positive impact of maintaining current HWT funding levels means:
- For your business
- For the sector
- For the community
For councils proposing to hold funding at current levels:
- I support Council’s draft LTP decision to maintain 100% of Hamilton & Waikato Tourism’s current funding and commend Council for making this decision.
OR - I commend Council on proposing to maintain their current funding level of Hamilton & Waikato Tourism in their draft LTP.
If you would like to elaborate on this statement in your submission, you could then provide details about your business, why HWT is important, your relationship with us, and what you believe the positive impact of maintaining current HWT funding levels means:
- For your business
- For the sector
- For the community
INFORMATION THAT MAY BE HELPFUL IN CREATING YOUR SUBMISSION
Waikato visitor sector:
- Waikato’s is ranked fifth highest in the country when it comes to visitor expenditure, adding an average of $5.1 million each day to the region’s economy.
- The region hosts 10 per cent of all New Zealand business events, attracting 94,400 delegates last year.
- Tourism in the region directly employs more than 12,200 people in the region.
- HWT’s role is to attract domestic and international visitors and increase length of stay and expenditure through effective destination marketing, development, and management activity.
- Visitor spend filters through operators, to employees, to service providers and into the wider community. It provides jobs, enriches culture and provides community vibrancy through its support for cafes, restaurants, hospitality venues and events in our city and towns.
- Council financial contribution to HWT, and in turn the visitor sector, is not a cost, hand-out or grant – it is an investment in our communities. It is an investment that pays dividends in employment, economic benefit, pride in place and vibrancy (and sometimes viability) of communities.
Impacts from funding reductions:
- Reducing funding directly impacts the services HWT are able to provide to the visitor sector. Less resources = less services. Less marketing. Less capability support. Less collaboration with Tourism NZ. Less activity with international trade. Less focus on attracting business events. Less services will equal less visitors. Less visitors equals less visitor spend in our communities. This will negatively impact communities across the mighty Waikato.
- Historical data shows when the last Waikato RTO was closed down in 2006 there was a clear decline in visitor numbers, spend, bed nights, employment and GDP. This continued until 2011 when the RTO was re-established, and the growth trajectories began to return.
- If you were operating at the time Tourism Waikato disbanded and Waikato had no RTO for a period of time, feel free to highlight how challenging this period might have been for you.
- The region benefits from around $1.9billion of visitor spend (SOURCE: MRTE: Oct 2023). If our current market share should drop just half a percent, that would mean $149 million less spent in the region per annum; or $400,000 dollars less per day in our communities.
- Travellers who decide to come to New Zealand, or New Zealanders who travel, have choices – we need to ensure their choice is us – Hamilton and Waikato and the RTO’s role is critical in doing this.
- If there was no RTO, then central Govt funding such as Regional Events Fund (REF), would have excluded the mighty Waikato region. The REF fund has been well utilized in financially supporting events and providing valuable capability building opportunities for all event organisers in the region.
- Tourism NZ work with RTOs for offshore activity – if there is no RTO, our region will not be included in TNZ events, famils etc.
- Hamilton & Waikato Tourism are the advocates for the tourism sector and region for when issues arise ie: Covid recovery support, Cyclone recovery funding support. If there is no RTO, or the RTO is not properly funded and resourced, the ability to advocate and assist is non-existent or limited.
How the RTO supports your business and your community:
You may like to add a statement about your engagement with HWT – how we support and work with you, how this positively impacts your business, and in turn your staff (ie jobs) and your wider community (ie visitors bring vibrancy, extra services/amenities etc)
- For smaller operators, it might be you see our work as helping to elevate your marketing plan, attracting visitors you wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach, and providing support and upskilling opportunities through capability building workshops
- For larger operators, it could be how the RTO brings the region and operators together as a collective voice for promotion but also initiatives such as Tiaki or sustainability, promotes the destination as a whole, as well as your business on the domestic and global stage etc.
- For new investors/developments, the business case for investment in tourism in the region would fundamentally change if the RTO services were to be reduced. The RTO is paramount to assist with marketing the destination to ensure visitation.
- Business Events - the Convention Bureau has a broad reach to attract PCOs and Associations to host their events in the region that you might not be able to do on your own. The Business Events team bring the event offering together, providing a collaboration and joined up bid/pitch to event organisers.
- Consider your suppliers – what impact will less visitors, less business to you mean to your suppliers? Can you include this in your submission? Maybe you can encourage them to also make a submission. Think about where your busses are serviced, where you buy your food produce, your advertising agency etc.
HEARINGS, DELIBERATIONS & DECISIONS
Once submissions are received, councils will conduct hearings for anyone who wishes to speak to their submission. After this, they will have a period of deliberations and final LTP decisions will be confirmed in late June-early July.
In the meantime, if you happen to see any of your local councillors in your daily lives and the opportunity presents itself, we would really appreciate your advocacy for HWT and the amazing industry we have built together.
As an organisation, we are committed to leaving no stone unturned with our attempt to mitigate any reductions to our funding through LTP decisions. We believe in the mahi we conduct; we believe in our sector, and we believe in our region. We must all do our utmost to ensure our work and positive impact on the communities we serve continues.
Thank you in advance for your ongoing support of HWT and the visitor sector during this challenging time.