Naturally Whanganui meets this week in Hunterville

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 240, 19 April 1988, Page 5

Naturally Whanganui meets this week in Hunterville

The first annual meeting of Naturally Whanganui will be held on Wednesday, April 20. It will be an evening meeting at the Argyle Hotel in Hunterville. Formed a year ago in response to government moves to recognise regional groups for tourism promotion, Naturally Whanganui has an impressive list of achievements. As the body responsible for the co-ordination of development and marketing of tourism in the Whanganui region, progress includes: •The preparation of a marketing plan for the coming year which will be updated yearly. •The compilation of an inventory of visitor attractions and facilities which will be printed in the near future and available to members to assisi with packaging, research and planning. •A seminar held to discuss packaging of the region's assets for inclusion in the forthcoming Great New Zealand campaign being co-ordinated by the Tourist Industry Federation. •A seminar held to discuss research undertaken by the New Zealand Tourist and Publicity Department and the way this can be used by operators. Activities planned for the coming year include the appointment of an executive director and a media campaign throughout the region highlighting the assets of the region and the worth of tourism to the region's economy. Guest speaker at the meeting will be Andy Geddes, regional vice-chairman of the Tourist Industry Federation and chairman of the Waikato Promotion Society. He will speak on the role of the executive office in regional tourism promotion. The Waikato has been very successful over the last two years in drawing large numbers of visitors down from the Auckland area.