While a lot of us may have given up on the CBD, new Mainstreet Tauranga manager Genevieve Whitson is “not somebody that gives up on things easily”.

Having sunk her teeth into the role over the past three months, Genevieve says she is someone who likes a challenge.  

When she arrived in Tauranga in 2020, Genevieve recalls her reaction to seeing our city centre.

“I was like: ‘Whoa this city needs some serious help,’ and I never would've dreamt that I'd actually have an opportunity to really assist with that process,” she says.

“I see so much potential here and believe in all the businesses that also want to see the city centre thrive.”

Genevieve has more than a decade of experience in event management, communications, fundraising and marketing in the UK.

She also competed as a professional cyclist in Europe for several years, where she self-marketed to advance her career.

As the Mainstreet Tauranga manager, Genevieve says “it's definitely challenging but really rewarding”.

“It also resonates with a lot of the key skills that I've learned previously.”

So what are the biggest challenges facing Downtown Tauranga?

“Right now the businesses need more advocacy and support to ensure that their voice is heard – so that's going to include working closely with the council.”

Genevieve says a lot of the developments going on in the city have been a “non-stop stampede”.

“The good news is that early this year quite a lot of the disruption is going to settle down… especially at the top of Elizabeth Street.”

Genevieve and the Downtown Tauranga team have been working hard on the draft annual plan for the city.

“We've got a number of key items we're advocating on, and also mapping out a really strong marketing and promotion strategy for 2024 to ensure that the businesses downtown get greater visibility so that we can draw more people back in.”

Upcoming Downtown Tauranga events people can look forward to is the Jazz Festival and school holiday promotions in March, and Flavours of Plenty in April.

To see what Genevieve and the Downtown Tauranga team have in store for the CBD in 2024-2025, view the annual plan at: https://www.tauranga.govt.nz/council/working-with-organisations/mainstreet-organisations/downtown-tauranga