Agrodome-Ngai Tahu deal key to future options

It was a heart-wrenching decision but Agrodome's Warren Harford says he has no doubt bringing Ngai Tahu Tourism into the family business was the smart thing to do.

Speaking exclusively to The Daily Post, Mr Harford said the Agrodome had been a family business since his father George Harford and Godfrey Bowen founded the attraction in 1971.

"There is a lot of history there. Three generations of Harfords and Bowens have worked in the business and it was hard for the heart.

"But the family realises it makes good business sense. It's the way the whole industry is going - your competition is not just the person down the road any more. It's the whole world of tourism and family businesses are a bit hog tied in what they can achieve without the backing of larger organisations such as Ngai Tahu Tourism."

Mr Harford said the new partnership between the two families and the South Island iwi group would provide greater opportunities to further develop the Agrodome, which celebrates its 40th anniversary next month, and the Lakeland Queen, which it bought from receivers in 2006.

"It will enable us to compete on the world stage in a sustainable way."

But the family will still be very much involved in the business. He said they continued to take pride in being part of the Agrodome and were excited about the opportunities the partnership offered for the business and for Rotorua and New Zealand tourism.

Neither Mr Harford nor Ngai Tahu Tourism chief executive John Thorburn would be drawn on what those opportunities might be, saying there were some ideas, but the plan was to let the partnership bed in first and develop their working relationships before tackling new developments.

However, Mr Thorburn said the closer collaboration would help the group create more comprehensive packages for visitors - marketing its local attractions, such as the Agrodome, Rainbow Springs and Kiwi Encounter and Hukafalls Jet, in package deals with its businesses in Queenstown, the South Island's West Coast and the Abel Tasman region.

"We are looking to create significant tourism flows between the North and South Islands and Rotorua is clearly key to that."

Mr Harford said this would be good for Rotorua's industry and for New Zealand tourism.

Investments in Rotorua are seen as important for Ngai Tahu Tourism's efforts to capture the growing Asian markets and Mr Thorburn echoed Mr Harford's previous calls for stronger airlinks between Rotorua and key South Island tourist spots, saying they would become crucial.

Mr Thorburn did not want to enter into the debate about whether Te Arawa interests were missing out on similar investments while they sorted out their Treaty settlements, but said Ngai Tahu's settlement was made about 10 years ago and the iwi now had good organisation and structures in place to build its economic portfolio and it had a strong commitment to tourism and to the Rotorua region.