Call for more inclusive Venture

A public/private set-up could be the answer to funding issues surrounding Venture Hawke's Bay, while others are calling for the organisation's new structure to better understand the region's needs.

Venture Hawke's Bay is the Regional Council's economic and tourism development branch and this week it was announced there are wholesale changes ahead for it, including job cuts.

Hawke's Bay Wine Country Tourism chairman Sam Orton said the region needed a tourism office which had more autonomy and a better operations funding base.

"On balance, I think we would want to say there now has to be some consideration for a public and private partnership of our RTO [regional tourism organisation].

"This is just an idea and we understand that it is the Hawke's Bay Regional Council which is running Venture Hawke's Bay," he said.

"But unless we start making noises now and get some people thinking, it certainly won't happen."

Mr Orton said Wine Country was disappointed to hear Janet Takarangi was stepping down as general manager of Venture Hawke's Bay.

"She worked hard to deliver strategies for the visitor industry and has managed to leverage some significant alternate funding for the economic development of Hawke's Bay.

Advertisement"But I think she has struggled to make headway in a highly politicised environment ... the lack of funding for her unit at Venture Hawke's Bay has made it difficult for her team to deliver an effective campaign for regional promotion."

Mr Orton said he thought the public/private arrangement might give  Venture Hawke's Bay more financial stability.

Mrs Takarangi had worked at Venture Hawke's Bay for two years, a year longer than her predecessor when the organisation was called Hawke's Bay Inc.

Mr Orton said Wine Country felt the restructuring of Venture Hawke's Bay "was another disruption" to an organisation already under pressure from outside experts, whose opinion was that the region had under-performed.

"And until we understand the importance of a regional approach, which is inclusive of industry input, we will continue to struggle," he said.

"I would say despite best efforts, the whole industry is still under duress."

Napier Moteliers Association president Jillian Griffin said her group hoped the experience and knowledge of people already working in the tourism industry would be used more by the new set-up at Venture Hawke's Bay.

"This would enable them to understand what is needed to promote the Bay. We would like to see someone like Pete Blackwell from AA [Tourism] as the chair of the new group," she said.