Opposition to a funding boost for the Queenstown Lakes district's regional tourism organisation was the biggest talking point at an annual plan submissions hearing yesterday. On a morning otherwise dominated by requests by non-profit organisations for new or higher funding, criticism of extra funding proposed for Destination Queenstown (DQ) was a recurring theme. ''The funding model for DQ looks either out of touch or irrelevant in relation to what it does.'' About a quarter of the 27 submissions presented to councillors expressed opposition to the proposed one-off $900,000 injection, from July 1, which would increase DQ's annual core funding to $4.5million. In his submission, DQ chief executive Graham Budd said opposition to the funding proposal appeared to be driven by concern at continuing growth in visitor numbers.

Source: Otago Daily Times May 21, 2019 16:32 UTC