Locals surveyed for destination plan

A plan is underway to produce a coordinated and consistent approach to marketing the wider Mahurangi area to tourists, while at the same time balancing this with the aspirations of the people who live in the area.

The project is being spearheaded by Tātaki Auckland Unlimited in conjunction with the Rodney Local Board, mana whenua and Matakana Coast Tourism.

Stafford Strategy, a Sydney-based company, has been engaged to develop the plan, which will be one of several prepared for areas of Auckland that are heavily impacted by visitors, including Waiheke and Franklin.

They are designed to guide local areas on how to actively manage the impact of visitation in a more sustainable way. This includes outlining the benefits and effects of tourism, identifying ways to work together to better manage impacts and identifying what improvements can be made to attract higher value tourists, who will spend more money and time in the area.

Tātaki head of visitor economy Annie Dundas says an online survey for members of the public to complete will be an important part of drafting the plan. The survey will ask people who live and work in the Mahurangi area including Mangawhai for their views on tourism, what they think is working, any concerns they may have and what they would like to see happen in the future.

“The management plan will be a blueprint with realistic and practical recommendations,” Dundas says.

“It will give potential investors a stronger understanding of where there are gaps, as well as outlining community aspirations. It will also identify pressure points such as the Saturday morning markets in Matakana.”

Dundas says discussion has already been held with key stakeholders and the localised plans will dovetail with a larger destination plan for the whole of Auckland.

The final Mahurangi plan is expected to be released near the end of the year.

The budget for creating destination management plans is around $90,000.

Residents and business owners are encouraged to complete the survey which can be found here:
www.surveymonkey.com/r/MatakanaCoastDMPSurvey

The survey closes on August 24.