Rena: Making best of opportunity

The Rena grounding is an opportunity to build community spirit and attract more visitors from within New Zealand and overseas, Tourism Bay of Plenty chairman Graeme Marshall says.

He told the organisation's annual meeting that Tauranga has been thrust on to the world stage, for the wrong reasons "but we are there nonetheless".

Mr Marshall said the challenge is to harness the pride and passion and resilience of the people in this region, and to turn the world's attention into future visitors to New Zealand and Bay of Plenty.

"We need every citizen in this community to become an ambassador to communicate the pride and passion that exists here. Never has the scene been set for us so emphatically," he said.

Mr Marshall, who is also Port of Tauranga's commercial manager, said the region was shaken to its core by the Rena grounding.

"Without wishing a tragedy of this nature, the Rena incident has fostered a community in which everyone cares about its future," Mr Marshall said. "It has harnessed the passion we all talk about but very rarely see so universally in action. Some 6700 people have registered as volunteers to clean up our beaches."

He said the hope is that all of the oil will be off the Rena within two weeks and the threat of blackened beaches will be all but gone.

If more oil comes ashore, this community has demonstrated the will and ability to fix it.

"We have been told the response is something never before seen on this planet," Mr Marshall said.

Tourism Bay of Plenty must join with local businesses, councils and other agencies to take advantage of this crisis and showcase what Tauranga and the wider Bay of Plenty has.

"We need to reaffirm this area as a fantastic place to visit, stay and enjoy," he said.

Mr Marshall told the meeting he is stepping down as chairman in the New Year.

He will remain a Tourism Bay of Plenty trustee till March, after serving nine years with the organisation.

He will be replaced as chairman by Devonport Towers developer Paul Bowker, who is also vice-president of Tauranga Chamber of Commerce and a Bay of Plenty Polytechnic council member.