Minutes from the meeting are below:

Present in person: Jason Ross, Fiona Green, Chris Ollivier and Anna Davis (notes)
Apologies: Barrier Bulletin, Ben & Teresa from Sealink
Online: Jason Elliott (Chair) , Karen from Tataki Auckland Unlimited, Christine from Glenfern, Sacha Eddington and Grant Bacon and Chris Sattler.

After a quick round- table of introductions, Jason Elliott, as new Chair, opened the meeting explaining: the Aotea Destination Management Plan (DMP) has had time & effort go into it and is a great place to start for this group. We recognize that the plan isn’t an exhaustive list but it makes sense to use the strategic framework part of this
document to look at where we will spend our time and energy and rank our priorities.

You can read the full plan here:

https://journey.aucklandnz.com/destinationakl/destination-plans

We went through a spreadsheet Jason had collated with each main category listed from the framework and then as a group we put an action ranking alongside each recommendation. The rankings were either High – what we hope to achieve in a 12-24 month period, Medium – indicating a 5 to 10 year goal or Low priority meaning a long term idea or not part of this DMP mandate.

As a reminder, the key categories or guiding principles which were reflected upon at our meeting and at our first public hui back in February are : AN INSIGHTFUL PLACE , A PLACE OF PARTNERSHIP AND PLANNING , A SUSTAINABLE AND RESILIENT PLACE, A CONNECTED PLACE, A UNIQUE PLACE & A CAPTIVATING PLACE.

There were some key verdicts such as – we are here to facilitate not create as regards tourism on the island. And there are other community groups already carrying out some of the recommendations listed and some come down to advocacy from the local board and some fall outside of the remit of this steering group. Another major evaluation was: let’s leverage work that has already been done to take things forward and this includes the existing websites.

We don’t want to waste the branding done to date. An ongoing brand review strategy was discussed with an aim to keep community groups across what we are doing and get them involved. We need to represent the community.

Our brand and data collection were the key trending items from the meeting discussion this session and last. We are seeking a part time administrator to help the group bring to life some of these priorities. Please get in touch to express your interest.

Chris Ollivier can be reached on chris.ollivier@aucklandcouncil.govt.nz or phone : 027 225 4302

Finally, the group are considering a submission to the current review of this levy :
https://www.mbie.govt.nz/have-your-say/international-visitor-conservation-and-tourism-levy-review-2024

Any community member can complete the survey.

The deadline for submissions is 11 June.