Restaurant Association of New Zealand submission to Queenstown Lakes District Council
Introduction
The Restaurant Association of New Zealand (the Restaurant Association) welcomes the opportunity to make a submission on the Draft Economic Diversification Plan 2023 (the Plan).
We recognise and agree that diversifying the local economy is important for the future of the Queenstown Lakes District, however, we believe the plan could benefit from a heightened emphasis on collaboration with the Hospitality Industry.
We seek to actively engage with the Council to support aspects of the Plan relevant to our sector.
Partnering with the Restaurant Association
As the largest representative body for restaurants and cafes in Aotearoa New Zealand, the Restaurant Association also has a reputation for creating successful collaborations to solve problems and build solutions.
Our extensive industry knowledge and well-established local and national networks across the immigration, education, justice and social development sectors can offer invaluable insights to ensure the efficacy of both short and long-term strategic plans.
In Queenstown, we enjoyed working closely with former Mayor Boult to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and more recently with Mayor Lewers through the recent cryptosporidium outbreak.
We have enjoyed a good working relationship with the Queenstown Lakes District Council, and would welcome the opportunity to strengthen that relationship throughout the development and implementation of this plan.
Keystone Project: A World of Connections
We support the draft Plan’s keystone project, A World of Connections.
We have extensive experience in highlighting and promoting support for businesses and communities, and would welcome the opportunity to contribute to the proposed collective of organisations to achieve this goal.
Our most recent example of such activity is our national fundraising event, Cooking up a Storm, held in March 2023. Across the country, hospitality businesses came together to raise over $370,000 to help people and businesses who were severely impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle and the extreme weather events earlier this year.
Furthermore, as a national organisation, we have branches across the country. Our Southern Lakes branch, supported by our head office, provides a special link between the District and the national and international Hospitality sector.
Three Strategic Pillars
The Restaurant Association supports the three strategic pillars identified in the draft Plan.
We believe that in order to create conditions which enable economic diversification (pillar 1), it is crucial to ensure that the existing economic base for the district is strong, providing a solid foundation upon which to develop a more diverse economy.
Queenstown is well known for being a District where the Hospitality and Tourism industries are integral, and we believe that any steps towards economic diversification should be coupled with support to rebuild existing Hospitality infrastructure. This will provide the strong foundations for building a resilient and sustainable economy.
Further, while the Tourism and Hospitality industries are inherently linked in their operations, the Hospitality sector has unique needs to ensure its sustainable recovery. We therefore submit that within pillar 2 (diversification in travel-reliant industries and growth of adjacent businesses) Hospitality is a prime example of such adjacent businesses which require specific attention to enable their growth.
With strong foundations, existing industries like ours would be able to support the delivery of pillar 3 (growing niche industries for a diversified and resilient economy).
Foundations for Success
While the Foundations for Success laid out in the plan are crucial, equal emphasis should be placed on nurturing the robust relationship between the District and the Hospitality industry.
We particularly support the objective to evolve place branding to encompass economic diversification opportunities. Of particular importance to the Hospitality industry is the development of regional food stories.
As a country, Aotearoa New Zealand has a unique food story that will only add to our global reputation. Our national food story is predicated on the existence of distinct regional food stories, which spotlight the many regional specialties we have to offer.
We would welcome the opportunity to contribute to evolving the place branding for the District by partnering with the Council to develop a food story for the region.