Obstacle to tourist facilities removed

Press, 25 February 1988, Page 7

Obstacle to tourist facilities removed

A big obstacle to a multi-million dollar tourism development at Glentanner Station near Mount Cook has been removed. The MacKenzie County Council announced a change to its District Scheme on Tuesday to allow development of tourist facilities at the 1 station. About $lOO million will be spent on the development in the next 10 to 15 years with Glentanner Station, Ltd, acting as the umbrella company. Two hotels will be built, one of them by the South-

i ern Pacific Hotel Corpora- ■ tion. The regional director of the corporation, Mr t Timothy Stableforth, of Auckland, said yesterday ■ that the county council’s ; decision was tremendous : news. i ’ “We shall now move ahead and start develop- . ing our ideas,” he said. Mr Stableforth said a hotel could probably by ■ built at Glentanner by 1990-91 but a lot of work had to be done and a desirable completion date had not yet been decided.

“While details have yei to be defined, the hotel would not be less than 100 rooms with supporting facilities.” In summing up its decision, the Mackenzie County Council said it recognised the national significance of Mount Cook as a tourist attraction. The council had taken particular note of the need to provide for travellers’ accommodation and facilities to service the national park on a regional basis, a matter stressed in the Mount Cook National Park management plan.