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by historic signboards about attractions, street signs and wall plaques.
Guided tours, but at specific times of the year, were ranked fifth, with
their businesses as a recognized stop being prioritized least. Individual
businesses were asked what activity and/or functions they could offer.
For those who responded to this question, the top response was they
could display unique products (53%), followed by their business was a
food and beverage stop along the route (40%). Lower responses included
that visitors could be told about the history of their premises (23%), fol-
lowed by any historical character or specific event linked to their prem-
ises (17%). The least favored option was a description of the architecture
of their premises (7%).
The final aspect of the survey focused on the trail management
regime. The majority of businesses (45%) thought it best for the Dunedin
city council to be the responsible authority for trail maintenance, rather
than the Historic Places Trust (23%). Few (8%) supported a public-
private arrangement, with the remainder of participants not providing
an answer. Issues that would require ongoing development and mainte-
nance once the trail was formalized included maintaining markers, pub-
licizing the trail, maintaining signs, locating signs, content of historic
signs as well as reviewing the feedback received from visitors. Least
important issues were determining group size and the length of stops
along the trail.
The survey demonstrated that the informal trail ought to be formally
developed and that the business community was very supportive of action
taken by Dunedin city council to ensure that the trail would receive proper
maintenance. So what lessons could Dunedin learn from Napier where a
formalized trail existed along with a clear agency responsible for trail plan-
ning, development and management, namely the Art Deco Trust?
Fifty businesses were surveyed within the Art Deco precinct of
Napier in February 2004. A 92% response rate was obtained. Most busi-
nesses (67%) were retail or food and beverage-related (17%), where the
majority were either set up in the last five years (32%) or were well-
established (24%) over 15 years in business. Virtually all enterprises (98%)
saw their client base as residents and visitors, some 37% said they were
reliant on upwards of 40% of their income from visitors alone. Another
30% stated their income from visitors was between 41% and 50%, and
another 26% declared reliance on visitors of between 51% and 70%.
Location is important for every business. The Napier firms were asked
about this and, not surprisingly, 79% stated it was important to have
their business location either within the Art Deco precinct or, even
better, to be located along the guided tour route. For enterprises already
( Continued )
 
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