Focus Groups: Experience Hokianga

The region has a recent history of unsuccessful development that has not provided the expected economic benefits to the locals in the form of jobs and incomes. Tourism is seen as the way forward as to providing these sustainable jobs.

Experience Hokianga

2. The Experience Hokianga Group is a membership organisation established under the Enterprise Northland to promote the Hokianga as tourism visitor destination. The Group is also tasked with improving the economic sustainability of the Hokianga and to this end will employ a promotions officer under an Enterprising Communities grant from the Ministry of Social Development.

3. Enterprise Northland will be the parent legal body providing services ensuring that administration performance of the group has integrity and is inline with the goals and roles expressed in this charter. Enterprise Northland will be the employer of any staff.

4. The operation of the Experience Hokianga Group will be governed by an executive who will report performance on a regular basis to the Trustees of Enterprise Northland through the Promotions officer.

5. It is the intention of the Group to move to its own legal entity within 12 months (1 December 09).

Vision

6. Over the next five years, the Hokianga will become a major New Zealand tourism destination (different but complementary to the Bay of Islands) with experiences of a lifetime described as Authentic, Unspoiled, Spiritual, and Distinctive, delivering sustainable economic, environmental, social and cultural outcomes for all.

Goals

7. Experience Hokianga has four goals:

• Develop a cluster of quality tourism experiences which are complimentary; accessed via the harbour; bicultural; and add to the Hokianga destination experience.
• Design and implement a targeted promotion, marketing and events campaign to promote the Hokianga as a tourist destination.
• Establish water based public transport service, linking Hokianga settlements, for tourists and the community alike.
• Developments that reflect the Hokianga, working towards sustainable community economies & positive environmental impact.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

8. Success of Experience Hokianga will be measured in two areas:

1. Increase of visitors, both international and domestic to the region attracted by the experiences.
2. Increase of bed nights in the regions accommodation.

The amount of increase targeted will be set annually as part of the Annual Plan process.

Membership

9. There will be two types of membership of the Experience Hokianga Group.

1. Full Members will be individuals representing accommodation providers and experience operators, with linkages to the Hokianga region, approved by the Experience Hokianga Executive, and are paying the voluntary levy. Only Full members have voting rights at general meetings.
2. Associate Members will be individuals representing those that have interests in promotion of the Hokianga, outside the accommodation providers, and experience operators, approved by the Experience Hokianga executive, may or may not pay the voluntary levy, or are members of a kindred organisation which supports the vision and goals of Experience Hokianga. Associate members do not have voting rights but may be co-opted on to Experience Hokianga executive.

Governance

10. The group will be established under the legal organisation of Enterprise Northland who will ultimately be responsible for the financial performance and any employment issues. Experience Hokianga will function as a semi autonomous group managed by an elected executive. The Experience Hokianga Executive will be responsible to the trust and members for the implementation of this charter and reporting six monthly on performance by of biannual reports and annual plans.

The Executive

11. The Executive will be responsible to the members for:

1. The organisation and implementation of a promotion strategy for the Hokianga;
2. The branding and marketing of the region;
3. The coordination of events to further the goals;
4. The running of an interactive website promoting the region;
5. Organising of specials promotions;
6. Coordinating between members;
7. Oversight and assistance on developing experiences within the Hokianga including water transport;
8. Encourage and coordinate quality assurance schemes and professional standards;
9. Collate / bring together agencies that can assist in the development, from both a commercial and social perspective;
10. Review and update latest research;
11. For the financial performance of the group including:
The implementation and collection of the Voluntary levy;
1. The preparation and planning of budgets,
2. Reporting financial performance with a profit and loss statement and a cash flow on a monthly basis;
3. Full reporting financial performance on a six monthly basis with audited accounts annually.
4. The security of all monies collected and all financial documents ensuring that robust systems are in place.
12. The oversight of the Promotions Officer, who will be employed to assist the Experience Hokianga Group achieve its vision and goals and in the performance of its responsibilities.
13. Reporting progress towards milestones and financial performance to Enterprise Northland.

12. The Executive will consist of seven members,

1. Chairman
2. Deputy Chairman
3. Five members

The Promotions Officer will act as Secretary/ Treasurer.

13. A sub committee of Chairman, Deputy Chairman and a person nominated by Enterprise Northland, will be the review group of the performance of the Promotions Officer.

14. The Establishment Group will initially nominate the Foundation Executive to Enterprise Northland, who will approve all appointments. Thereafter membership of the executive will be elected by the membership at the AGM. The executive will serve on a two year rotation basis, with three members standing down after the first year. Those that stand down may offer themselves for re-election.

15. The AGM will normally be in May of each year but no later than September.

16. The executive will have the right to co-opt up to two members (Full or Associate) to the executive to provide specific expertise or to fill in when a member of the executive is on extended absence.

Meetings

17. The executive will meet on an as required basis but at least bimonthly. A quorum will be at least four elected members. Meetings will be open to all members and business discussed distributed as part a membership newsletter (may be electronic). The executive will formally report to the membership biannually at a General Meeting and an Annual General Meeting and Trustees biannually via written report. (One being the production of an audited annual report.)

Fees

18. All members will charge a one off Joining Fee. These are proposed as:

1. Foundation Member - $200
2. Joining after year one - $500
3. Joining after year two - $750
4. Joining after year three - $1000

19. Anyone who is a member of the Hokianga Tourism Association may deduct the membership fee of up to $100 from the joining fee on producing proof of current paid up membership.

20. Application for membership after approval from the executive will then be processed to include signing of a levy contract which specifies all full members must pay the appropriate levy on a bimonthly cycle. Membership Contracts will apply and returns expected within 30 days of the end of a cycle. Overdue returns will be penalised. Statistics will be consolidated recorded and published for members information

21. Individual returns will be kept confidential through Enterprise Northland, with only the aggregated totals published.

22. Levies will be set by members annually at the AGM on presentation of a budget. For the first year the levies are:

1. 0.50 cents per customer through experiences or 5% of the admission charge which ever is the lesser.
2. 0.60 cents per bed night or 1.5% of the charge which ever is the lesser.

Membership Entitlements and Benefits

23. The following are the entitlements and benefits of membership for Full Members:

1. Destination Promotion and promotion materials;
2. Voting rights at AGM and General Meetings. Approval of Annual Plans and Strategies;
3. Access to any research data that the Group obtains or commissions.
4. Voting rights for positions on the executive.
5. One advertorial of 30 seconds to be available on the relevant page of the website.
6. Linkages from the website to the member's website.
7. Access and participation in the Hokianga on line booking system.
8. Within the website inclusion as options in the "plan your Experience Hokianga" itinerary section.
9. Ability to participate in specials promotions.
10. Ability to use the Promotions Officer for marketing advice for no charge.
11. Exposure to visiting media on occasions.
12. Monthly newsletter with summary of regional performance.

24. Associate members will have the same rights as full members but have no voting rights or free advertorial.

Resignation

25. Members are expected to formally resign if the no longer wish to pay the levy. Resignations must in writing and will be registered from the date of receipt by the secretary. All outstanding levies to that date are expected to be paid.

Sponsorship and Associate Members

26. A sponsorship package will be designed and approved by the executive. Individual sponsorship deals will be negotiated with sponsors depending on the sponsors needs. Sponsors will divided into classes Gold, Silver and Bronze depending on the level of the sponsorship. The detail for each of these classes will be defined annually and may involve linkages with the website and advertising opportunities at some events.

Confidentiality, Security and Ownership of Intellectual Property

27. The group will generate commercial intelligence through it levy activities and share the results through news letters etc. This information will always belong to the group and may not be shared with non members without the permission of the executive. It will be part of the responsibility of membership to keep this information secure. After a grace period of two years the information may be made available in the public arena.

28. All documents that are commercial sensitive are to be marked as such and copyright.

Change of Structure or Wind Up

29. If at some future date the organisation decides to become a separate legal identity or merge with another group, a majority of 75% of the full members must agree to the proposal as indicated by a written vote. If there is any change of structure all contracts for payment of the levy are null and void and must be reset for any new organisation.

30. If the group and levy is to be discontinued a majority of 75% of full members must agree in a written vote. Any funds that belong to Group at dissolution date, after payments of all debts are to be passed on to a like organisation with similar goals that include the promotion of the Hokianga as a destination.

Acknowledgement

31. A copy of this charter will be distributed to any new member as part of signing the Levy Contract. Signing the contract will be acknowledgement that the new member understands the rules of the group and agrees to abide by them.

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