Thames Town Promotions Project Kicks Off

A leading tourism company has been given the task of attracting more visitors to Thames.

The Thames Community Board has engaged Visitor Solutions to deliver its town promotion and event marketing project.

A stakeholder working group made recommendations to delegated members of the Thames Community Board for consideration and Community Board Chair Strat Peters says the decision was unanimous.

"We're thrilled to kick start a new phase of promotion for the town, something that has been sorely needed for many years,” says Mr Peters.

Visitor Solutions has worked on tourism, art and community development projects, including the 2011 Waihi Gold Discovery Centre concept development. Managing Director Craig Jones was behind the ‘Footprints Waipoua’ concept judged by Lonely Planet to be one of the top 100 eco tourism experiences, worked on the redevelopment of Te Rerenga Wairua (Cape Reinga) to repair the cultural and environmental integrity of the site and improve the visitor experience, and will lead the Thames project.

"The tourism industry is ever-changing but one thing always remains true: you have to stand out to succeed. Providing that unique point of difference and continually monitoring and optimising the offer are some of the keys to ongoing success,” says Mr Jones.

The Community Board’s priorities in the first year are to:

1 - Develop and promote a visitor attraction strategy and “brand” that reflects Thames’ unique character and optimises visitor attraction.

2 - Provide promotional and coordination support to the Thames events community.

3 - Develop promotional tools and products including a renewed Thames-focused destination website.

Visitor Solutions will work closely with community and the established stakeholder group to develop and roll out the project strategy starting with a project update workshop on Thursday 3 December.

“It's exciting to see the project kick off,” says project group member Karl Edmonds, “and we really look forward to engaging with the community to optimise visitor growth and opportunity for our town."

For more information about Visitor Solutions, see the company's website here.

Thanks to all those involved in the stakeholder working group

The Thames Community Board received the Thames Town Promotion Services report dated 4 September 2015 and delegated the Area Manager and Board Members to award the Thames Promotion Services contract for a one year term.

The Board members delegated to make the decision were Board Chair Strat Peters, Councillor Diane Connors and Member Craig Cassidy.

The Stakeholder Working Group inlcluded the following members of the Thames community:

Clancy Nixon
Karl Edmonds
Mark Skelding
Heather Moore
Andrea McCartney (represented by Ruth Bliss)
Morrie Dunwoodie

ends

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