DestinationMarketing Essentials-second edition features a case study on Rotorua tourism and how it survived a major crisis in the 1980s. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
DestinationMarketing Essentials-second edition features a case study on Rotorua tourism and how it survived a major crisis in the 1980s. PHOTO/SUPPLIED
In the 1980s, Lake Rotorua was called ‘an unflushed toilet’
AFORMER Rotorua tourism chief has recounted in his new book how a Japanese delegation once asked the mayor to change the name of the city to Kingstown to attract more tourists.
Dr Steven Pike is now Associate Professor of Marketing at Queensland University of Technology in Australia, but was onceemployed as the first Tourism Rotorua general manager, established in 1989 by the Rotorua District Council to help lead the local tourism industry out of a crisis.
Dr Pike's fourth book on tourism destination marketing, Destination Marketing Essentials - second edition, features Rotorua as a case study examining the rise and fall and rise again of the city as a resort destination.
The case study details the rise of Rotorua from the turn of the last century, on the back of significant government support, through to the events leading to a 1980s crisis that saw Rotorua's image as a destination in severe decline, with national media headlines such as "Death of a tourist town", "Lake Rotorua is an unflushed toilet" and "The most squalid place in the country".
At one stage, Dr Pike said he was part of a "closed door" meeting with then Mayor of Rotorua John Keaney and leading Japanese tour operators to discuss how to rectify Rotorua's tarnished image.
"Their key suggestion, which was never made public, was to change the district's name to Kingstown, since Japanese preferred English-sounding names like Queenstown.
"There was no chance the mayor and other leaders would seriously consider changing the name, and so it was never pursued.
"It is rare, but not impossible, since Elston in Australia changed its name to Surfers Paradise in the 1930s."
The negative image of Rotorua at the time was significant, and not only outside Rotorua, he said.
Dr Steven Pike.
"Local pride was at an all-time low, with a typical comment to me when my wife and I moved back to Rotorua in late 1988 being 'Why have you come back to this hole?' I was told by the CEO of a major airline, 'If you can turn this place around, you will be able to write your own ticket.'
"My own view is that, by virtue of the town's over-reliance on government support since the early 1900s, there was a view that visitors would automatically keep coming as they always had.
"Thankfully, the council recognised the need for a major upgrade of the CBD and the need for a well-funded destination marketing organisation."
Apart from the image issue, Dr Pike said Rotorua also faced a major tourism promotion funding problem.
"There was, at the time, a lack of leadership in the local tourism industry due to not having a well-resourced destination marketing organisation.
"So we kicked off Tourism Rotorua as an impartial agency, with the wider community interests at heart, and with an initial budget of $250,000 from the Rotorua District Council."
Dr Pike remains a strong advocate for Rotorua and is proud of the way the council and industry have worked together to make Rotorua a competitive destination again.
"Over the years, the team has been able to grow the budget and co-operative spirit, so that today we have a professional destination marketing organisation able to lead co-operative ventures with local businesses to create a bigger bang in the market. Today, Rotorua is no longer complacent, and stakeholders recognise the need for a long-term financial commitment to destination marketing. The hope is that Rotorua will never again take it for granted that travellers will automatically visit."
