Paihia isite refurbishment to enhance service
The Bay of Islands isite at Paihia – one of the busiest Visitor Information Centres in the country – will be getting a much-needed refurbishment starting on Thursday 3 July.
The Far North District Council operates three isite centres in the district – Te Ahu at Kaitāia, Hokianga at Ōpononi, and the Bay of Islands office at Paihia. All Far North isites also double as council service centres, where residents can complete council tasks such as paying of rates and dog registration fees.
There are over 50 isite visitor centres across Aotearoa, each of which offer up-to-date tourist information to manuhiri (visitors) and also provide a New Zealand-wide booking service for activities, accommodation and transport. The network is backed by Tourism New Zealand and local government.
The Bay of Islands isite Visitor Information Centre occupies a prime location on the Paihia waterfront but the distinctive round building has not been upgraded in over 20 years. The renovation, which will be jointly funded by isite New Zealand and the council, is expected to last four weeks.
The new layout will provide stand-alone desks to enable team members to interact more easily with customers creating a more engaging experience to educate manuhiri on travel in New Zealand.
To ensure uninterrupted service during the renovation, isite staff will be temporarily relocated to an office directly opposite, on the corner of Marsden and Williams Road. This is currently occupied by Explore Bay of Islands, which has kindly offered to share its premises for the duration of the isite renovation. Explore Bay of Islands offers ‘Discover the bay’ cruises, ferry trips and other adventure tours in the Bay of Islands.
The isite nationwide network received $2.975m from the government’s International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) fund, which included upgrading the interiors of 14 isites. The Paihia isite will be the eighth refurbishment to be undertaken.
Below image - The arrow in the image points to Explore Bay of Islands, where isite will be temporarily relocated.
