Tourism Bay of Plenty chief executive Oscar Nathan. Photo / Supplied
Tourism Bay of Plenty chief executive Oscar Nathan. Photo / Supplied
A Bay of Plenty tourism boss has apologised after his suggestion that Tauranga should take advantage of "accommodation issues" in Rotorua was met with surprise and disappointment.
Tourism Bay of Plenty chief executive Oscar Nathan told Tauranga commissioners during a council meeting on Monday the situation in Rotorua presented a"massive opportunity" for Tauranga.
"They've got MIQ facilities, three of them, massive housing and accommodation issues. Essentially their downstream negative is our upstream benefit," said Nathan, a former general manager of tourism organisation Destination Rotorua.
"It means locations like Rotorua are no longer at the top of the shopping list in terms of events."
Nathan urged commissioners to consider a focus on developing an inner-city hotel in Tauranga, "which would be fantastic".
Rotorua Economic Development chief executive Andrew Wilson and Rotorua deputy mayor Dave Donaldson expressed surprise and disappointment with Nathan's comments.
Wilson said the city's accommodation stock had not been affected by MIQ facilities or social housing.
"Aside from the few weekends each year where we reach capacity, there is always room available".
Wilson said Rotorua would always be a priority location for events "given our ability to accommodate significant numbers of visitors and our unique appeal and calibre as a visitor destination".
The MIQ facilities were expected to eventually close or reduce over time.
He was surprised by Nathan's suggestions.
Destination Rotorua, the tourism arm of the group, valued the close working relationship with Tourism Bay of Plenty to help complement each other's regions, he said.
Donaldson said the city was "tackling housing challenges" but local events were "thriving and will continue to do so".
"Additionally, not only do we see events return to Rotorua, we see them grow. Major events such as Crankworx, Tarawera Ultramarathon, Xterra, and Whaka 100, have all returned year after year and have experienced continuous growth.
Rotorua's Ibis Hotel, currently being used as an MIQ facility, pictured in June. Photo / NZME
Rotorua Lakes Council arts and culture manager Stewart Brown said while the use of motels and hotels for housing MIQ "does put pressure on us", there was still capacity with about 3000 beds still available.
Rotorua Energy Events Centre was almost fully booked in 2022 and inquiries coming in for events in 2023, 2024 and 2025, he said.
After the meeting, Nathan said he was not trying to burn bridges with Rotorua but there was an opportunity that couldn't, or shouldn't, be ignored.
"When one's down and the other pops up, it doesn't mean you are trying to drag them down," he said.
"There are capacity issues in Rotorua at the moment ... therefore Tauranga has an opportunity to work smarter in spaces it hasn't had the opportunity to do before.
"If Rotorua is no longer in a position to do the same level of business that it was, with MIQ motels etc, we don't want that business to then pack up and head down to Christchurch."
Nathan believed a CBD hotel in Tauranga would not only boost the city's economy but have benefits for the wider region also.
Nathan said he did not intend to upset anyone.
"Those that know me know I'm a straight shooter and protagonist for our wider region and I'm sorry my comments have caused reaction as some form of point-scoring rhetoric which was not the intention.
"When you are close to a community you tend to speak up about things, however, it is not my remit to do so in this role and for that, I apologise. Tourism Bay of Plenty also values our relationship with Destination Rotorua immensely and look forward to continuing."
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Matt Cowley. Photo / NZME
Tauranga Chamber of Commerce chief executive Matt Cowley said an internationally recognised hotel and conference venue would be hugely beneficial but was a 50-year asset and had to be built for the right reasons.
"Tauranga has a range of options for smaller conferences. But Tauranga generally gets overlooked at the national level as our conference venue is not close to enough to accommodation for all attendees to stay."
Cowley said the chamber heard national-level conferences were bored with the same selection of cities and they were looking for something different that Tauranga could provide.
Lemongrass Catering's Belinda Lombard said the proposed hotel was a "fantastic idea".
The Tauranga-based caterer said people at conferences always wanted to do activities and if a Tauranga hotel and conference centre went ahead, Rotorua would not necessarily lose out due to its tourism attractions "just 45 minutes away".
Successive councils in Tauranga have discussed the prospect of attracting an internationally recognised brand of hotel to the city.
