City pumps $225,000 into Sydney flights

Rotorua is to inject $225,000 into a major campaign that aims to ensure transtasman flights between our city and Sydney are a success.
The Rotorua District Council has just launched the Let's GO Rotorua! campaign - a major marketing drive to fill the transtasman flights.
The first flight arrives in Rotorua on December 12.
The council now has a 100-day start-up plan that features 200 tasks to make sure the service will be used - both by Australians and Rotorua residents.
The council will be putting $100,000 towards the project - from existing funds - and the tourism industry is coming up with the remainder. No ratepayers' money will be used.
At a council finance committee meeting this week, councillors watched a television advert aimed at enticing passengers, which will be shown on the east coast of Australia.
Mountainbiking, hot pools, trout fishing, Maori culture and horse riding are among the activities showcased, set to a punchy theme to draw in tourists.
The $225,000 100-day start-up campaign has got under way to bring Australian tourists to Rotorua but also to prepare residents for an influx of tourists and to jump across the Tasman themselves.
Destination Rotorua Economic Development general manager Grant Kilby said it was an exciting time for Rotorua, but the organisation could not rest on its laurels now the city had achieved transtasman flights.
"I've had a few comments that nothing is being done but a hell of a lot has been done with the build-up," he said at council's finance committee meeting.
A project action group has been set up and there are more than 200 tasks to get completed in the lead up to December 12.
These include radio promotions, bumper stickers, in-flight magazine features and the setting up of a Rotorua headquarters on the corner of Haupapa and Tutanekai streets.
Mr Kilby said he had visions of giant Let's GO Rotorua! logos painted on the side of buildings and of buses carrying the brand.
One of his more lauded ideas was to take over the revolving billboards at Koutu Corner and attach wing-tips to the ends. An image of an A320 - the plane set to take 152 passengers across the Tasman - would appear to land on Lake Rd.
Councillors heard there had been promotion of Rotorua to Australians as a destination since February, with attendance at trade fairs and targeting travel agents. There is also a 12-page feature in a trade publication aimed at the conference and event sector.
 Council chief executive Peter Guerin said council could put forward $100,000 to kick off the campaign and it would not come from ratepayers' pockets. It would instead come from an account holding the KiwiSaver employer levy. This was deducted on payments referred to the IRD when KiwiSaver was established and had been held in a separate account since.
Some councillors thought more should be done overseas instead of in Rotorua itself.
"My first impression is we want to attract Australians but we're spending a lot of money in Rotorua," Cr Geoff Kenny said.
 Destination Rotorua tourism marketing general manager Don Gunn said: "Getting people from Australia is one part of it but [Air New Zealand] needs the outbound part," he said.