Editorial: Public vote to decide gongs

Aerial view of central Rotorua looking out over Sulphur Point on Lake Rotorua. Photo: Alan Gibson.

Congratulations to all of Rotorua's accommodation providers who were given gongs in the latest Trip Advisor Travellers Choice Awards. It's great to know we have some of the best places to stay in the country, and some of the friendliest people running them.

"So what? It's just another company handing out awards to get some publicity," some might say.

Not so.

The best thing about these awards is that they are not industry led, or just another back-patting exercise, because the businesses are all rated by their customers.

We all know how easy it is to hop online and give the world our opinions, so to see the range of people commenting favourably about our local businesses is heartening.

Trip Advisor is often the "go to" website for people travelling world-wide, or domestically, who want to find out where they can get the best food, best service or best value for money. In this case it's where you can get the best night's sleep, the most comfortable beds, the friendliest service or the best place to take your family. From reading the awards it looks like Rotorua has something for everyone, from five-star service to budget accommodation, to the best Bed and Breakfast.

Our accommodation providers are also often the first port of call for visitors to our city who set up base camp before heading off to take in the sights. The people running them are also the best people to sell our city to those visitors, handing out free advice and where the best places to go are. It seems Rotorua is in a bit of a purple patch and is slowly sailing out of the doldrums of the past decade.

The city looks great, it's clean and tidy, there are thousands of tourists flocking back to the place and they seem to be enjoying themselves. Tourist attractions are packed, there are "no vacancy" signs all over the place and business confidence is slowly returning. Long may it continue.