The Bay's tourism organisation is mounting a Love BOP campaign to make sure potential visitors are not put off by the Rena oil spill.
Tourism Bay of Plenty, which covers the coastal area from Waihi Beach to Whakatane, will be working with social media and radio to spread the messagethat it's "business as usual in the Bay".
They have support from other local agencies, Tauranga Chamber of Commerce, Sport Bay of Plenty and Priority One, and funding for the campaign is being finalised.
"One of the areas we will be targeting is Auckland and the Waikato where we get a lot over Christmas - that's our greatest source of visitors domestically," said Tourism Bay of Plenty general manager Glenn Ormsby.
"We want to tell people the beaches are clean. The Mount Beach today looks beautiful - it's not covered in oil like people think," he said. "The way the oil is being pumped [off the Rena], maybe by the end of the week the problem will be solved."
