24 August 2001 Downstream Losses from Accommodation Closures 'can be costly'

Central Otago concerns about the loss of visitor revenue to towns when accommodation facilities close are supported by Lincoln University's Senior Lecturer in Hospitality and Service Management Dr David Short.

"Central Otago District Council's Economic Development Officer Bill Dolan is perfectly right in pointing out that the whole town of Alexandra stands to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars through the recent closure of the Bendigo Hotel and the Two Bob backpackers," says Dr Short who heads the teaching of Lincoln University's commerce degree in Hotel Management.

"Tourism is a very synergistic activity and accommodation is one of the key parts that make up the whole.

"If visitors go elsewhere for their accommodation they take a lot of their spending power with them, so accommodation closures, or the absence of accommodation, can be economically costly.

"Look at the example of Westland, highlighted in a Lincoln University tourism report released earlier this month. A number of towns there, Harihari and Hokitika for instance, want to change the traditional day-tripper visitor pattern and get people staying overnight. Clearly they recognise the valuable 'multiplier effect' that accommodating visitors can have."

It was a point too made at this month's National Tourism Conference, attended by Dr Short.

He says that delegates were told that tourists come to New Zealand for the spectacular scenery, the culture and "to connect" with New Zealanders as people.

"Taking this into account, future accommodation developments – and Central Otago could be a case in point – should focus on the 'purpose of the visit' and develop a 'fit' by providing those types of innovative accommodation that best suit the tourists' needs.

"This approach to the development of accommodation will have the benefits of both increasing employment and boosting the local economy," says Dr Short.

Ian Collins, Journalist, Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand.