Ruth Crampton got knocked down, then got up again, got knocked down and got up again and in the words of Chumbawamba – “you’re never gonna keep me down.”
Destination Cambridge chair Lucy Young, right, reads her report while secretary Amelia Hunt watches on. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
Talking at the Destination Cambridge annual meeting last week, the general manager – now down to working three days a week – talked of the eight “challenging” months for the tourist information organisation.
“I mean for the triple whammy we’ve had we still managed to do okay. We’ve had a hard year, but we worked hard to cut costs,” Crampton said as she declared a surplus of $55,000 compared to the $36,000 loss for the previous year ended June 30.
“So, you can see it was quite a jump up from the year before.”
A big reason for that came because of Riverside Adventures and Rural Tours taking over the Cambridge iSite.
And the transfer of the Cambridge Town Hall bookings to the charitable trust in charge of it has freed Destination Cambridge to focus entirely on visitor support both online and in person.
“We have created a tourism hub that will benefit our visitors both before they arrive and during their visit to Cambridge,” she said.
Destination Cambridge’s i-Site staff, from left: Vicki Ewing, Seiko Wilson, Lynda Millington, Bev Rogers, Ruth Crampton, Patrick Clarke, Rachael Colgan, Ivy Drouwer. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
The big hit came when Waipā District Council canned its annual grant – in the 2023-24 financial year it was $157,000. The council will provide a one-off grant of $30,000 to fund iSite services on the condition they maintain their current online presence.
“The board undertook a review of the operations of Destination Cambridge/iSite and determined to focus more on supporting events that were coming to town, tourism advocacy (working with the Chamber of Commerce), visitor information both digitally and in person and product development opportunities,” said Crampton in her general manager’s report.
Destination Cambridge has retained earnings of $184,000 which Crampton said the organisation would keep as a “buffer” and use for promotional activity later.
Crampton thanked industry operators, none of whom left the organisation despite the challenges.
“How wonderful to see new products coming online enabling Cambridge to forge ahead as a destination in its own right. We are seeing more and more people choosing Cambridge as a place to base themselves to explore the wider North Island and as a stopover option, where previously it was a toilet stop!”
Crampton, an experienced tourism industry operator, said membership and future revenue was the key to retaining her services.
Tourism opportunities were back on the agenda at the Waipā Home & Leisure Show where local operators combined to present their offerings and celebrate Destination Cambridge’s announcement the i-Site in the Town Hall would remain open after July 1. From left, Tali Jellyman of Sanctuary Mountain, Destination Cambridge general manager Ruth Crampton and Sculpture Park’s Sue Devonshire. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
Chair Lucy Young said Destination Cambridge’s focus on fiscal constraint, cost sharing initiatives and future proofing resulted in the best bottom line for years.
“Destination Cambridge is poised for a bright future, leveraging its strengths and addressing weaknesses to become a more impactful tourism organisation.”
Crampton’s leadership and commitment had been instrumental in guiding Destination Cambridge through the challenging times.
“Ruth’s passion for tourism and her ability to inspire all around her at the Destination Cambridge team has been invaluable,” said Young.
Three board members – Caron Steffert, Jatin Bhai and Dick Breukink – stood down at the annual meeting. Voted in to replace them were Marie Rechner (Mystery Creek), Richard Levings (Alphas St Cafe and Bar) and Bill Heslop (accommodation consultant). Angelique van der Merwe, Belinda Gelston and Young will continue on the board.
Destination Cambridge general manager Ruth Crampton releases details of the tourism hub structure at the annual meeting. Photo: Mary Anne Gill.
