Editorial: Free trip no-show puzzle

The Dolphin Seafaris vessel. Photo / Laura McLeay

Plenty for everyone.

That is the tagline for Tourism Bay of Plenty and I can't help but agree.

We do live in a pretty special place and whether you are into extreme activities or leisurely strolls on the beach there is usually some sort of activity to suit you.

However, some of those do come at a cost and they are not something you could do on a regular basis.

Over the weekend Tourism Bay of Plenty had a promotion that targeted local residents. People had to register online and select three out of 12 activities that they would prefer to take part in.

Hundreds of people signed up and Tourism Bay of Plenty gave away 1396 free passes to 12 Bay of Plenty attractions worth $45,000.

I was among a group who were on the Dolphin Seafaris charter boat on Saturday.

We were instructed to turn up at 7.30am and the boat left at 8am.

About 7.50am we were all on the boat, having signed the waiver instructing us not to throw up inside, or face a $200 cleaning fee.

We had been given our wetsuits and a cup of coffee and were all itching to get going.

There were about 17 of us on that trip, 21 didn't show up.

That's 21 people who were given free tickets, and who didn't show up. Those tickets were each worth $140 and myself and others on board couldn't believe they were passing up on the opportunity to go on this adventure, free of charge.

Figures obtained by Tourism Bay of Plenty show 50 per cent of those who were offered tickets to Dolphin Seafaris did not turn up.

Tourism Bay of Plenty's Kristin Dunne said the had expected a 40 per cent drop off rate across all attractions.

I could not understand the logic behind registering for something and then not following through with actually going.

We do have some great attractions in the Bay and some of them are not cheap, so why not take advantage of a promotion like this?

Feedback from those who went on the Dolphin Seafaris was all positive.

Despite a bit of seasickness, I had an awesome time spotting dolphins and pilot whales and couldn't recommend this activity enough. I just hope that others seize the opportunity to enjoy some of our great attractions.