Concerns over spill's impact on tourism

There are fears the oil leaking into Tauranga Harbour will impact on the Western Bay's tourism industry.

Tourism Bay of Plenty general manager Glenn Ormsby said the situation could potentially have catastrophic effects on the environment and local businesses if the oil continued to leak.

"Obviously it's an environmental disaster and it's certainly not something we want."

Two large cruise ships are due to come next week - Rhapsody Of The Seas and Volendam - with 1900 and 1500 passengers respectively.

Mr Ormsby said it "wasn't a good look" when cruise ships and thousands of passengers visited our region.

"I'd hate to think of the worse case scenario, if the beaches were closed. I'd hate it to get that far," he said.

"We really need [the holidaymakers] and we don't need this environmental disaster on our doorstep. "

Mr Ormsby said it was something he had hoped would never happen.

"Yes I'm worried. I'm absolutely worried. I'm worried about the environment, the beaches, the effect it will have on businesses and the greater region."

Dolphin Seafaris operator Stuart Arnold said the grounding of the container ship Rena could lead to the "biggest environmental disaster ever seen" in the Western Bay of Plenty.

"This is an environmental catastrophe. We have a ship that's stuck on one of the most important marine ecological sites in the Bay of Plenty. We are faced with a major oil spill from the 1700 tons of heavy fuel oil on board and this will devastate the marine environment on and around the Astrolabe Reef.

Mr Arnold said the oil spill could impact on his business.

"If the marine life is affected there will be a knock-on effect starting from tourism. It will affect the number of people who stay in our region and hotels, motels, cafes, restaurants."

He said Motiti Island, Plate Island and Mayor Island were "jewels" in Bay of Plenty waters and if the marine life were damaged, fishing charters and dolphin tours would be significantly affected.

Owner of Hibiscus Surf School Guy Shuttleworth said if the beaches were closed, their business would be affected "in a big way".

"We wouldn't be able to do what we do so that would be a huge loss for us. It's definitely something I think about but I don't see any immediate concerns at the moment," he said.