One of the most important moments in any planning process doesn’t happen at the beginning.
It happens when you go back.
When you sit down with community and say:
“This is what you told us. Did we get it right?”
Validation isn’t a formality. It’s a responsibility.
Too often strategies are written about communities, not with them. Consultation is undertaken, notes are gathered, themes are pulled together — and then the momentum of deadlines takes over. Documents move forward without pause.
But validation changes the energy of a project.
It does three powerful things:
- It builds trust — because people see their words reflected back, not interpreted beyond recognition.
- It corrects misalignment early — before misunderstandings become embedded in strategy.
- It strengthens shared ownership — because the final direction feels collective, not imposed.
And the risks of skipping that step are real.
Without validation:
- nuance is lost,
- cultural authority can be misrepresented,
- tensions between groups can unintentionally be amplified,
- and communities can feel like participants rather than partners.
Last week, while on Country in the Gove Peninsula, I was grateful that people made additional time — again — to sit with me and talk through the direction of the Tourism Master Plan. I know consultation fatigue is real. Time is precious. Leadership responsibilities are heavy.
But what struck me most was the generosity.
The willingness to check, refine, correct and strengthen what has been drafted. The care taken to ensure that tourism reflects culture, not compromises it.
That process — going back, listening again, adjusting — is where resilient planning begins.
Because when community voices shape the foundation, the structure that follows stands on solid ground.
As we say in Aotearoa:
“He waka eke noa.”
We are all in this canoe together.
And the only way forward is together.
Article by TRC Tourism Managing Director Kylie Ruwhiu-Karawana
