Newly refreshed Manawatū Destination Management Plan

The newly refreshed Manawatū Destination Management Plan

Over the last year, CEDA has been working to refresh the region’s Destination Management Plan, following a pandemic that has systematically changed our tourism ecosystem, impacted businesses, highlighted talent shortages and generally changed our way of life.

With the original Plan’s actions largely implemented over the last two years, CEDA set out to refresh what we have and ensure that together as a region, we can shift gears into a more strategic and collaborative approach to sustainably growing the visitor economy, for the value of our communities.

To refresh the Plan, CEDA engaged with over 85 stakeholders, across more than 20 workshops, interviews, presentations and discussions and undertook a community engagement survey which received responses from more than 330 residents across the region. This work was integral to the refresh process, ensuring that we left no stone unturned in setting the plan for the future of our visitor economy, and in identifying the opportunities and challenges we face in the short, medium and long term.

“We know that you cannot keep marketing a product (region) without reviewing, developing and improving it to meet market demands – that doesn’t make good business sense – and it is the same for our region, ” says Janet Reynolds, CEDA’s Marketing and Communications Manager.

“Our ambition is that this refreshed Plan will provide our regional partners and stakeholders with a shared vision and set plan of actions to create positive impacts from the visitor economy, one of our largest sectors in the region.”

It’s important to keep in mind that the Destination Management Plan will always be a living document that responds to our environment and external challenges, ensuring we can sustainably care for this beautiful place we call home. If you’d like to know more or provide any feedback, you can get in touch with [email protected]

If you have any questions on this information, we welcome questions or comments through [email protected]