Tourism Bay of Plenty chief executive Oscar Nathan. Photo / Supplied
A Bay of Plenty tourism boss has apologised after his suggestion Tauranga should take advantage of "accommodation issues" in Rotorua was met with surprise and disappointment in that city.
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 at 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 was disappointed by the comments and 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 Lakes Council arts and culture manager Stewart Brown said although 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 were 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 benefit 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 said an internationally recognised hotel and conference venue would bring new travellers to the city centre "that are not coming here already".
"The city centre has a goal of more people staying for longer. Together with recent developments, like the university campus and Farmers building, will encourage more vibrant streets after the typical workday ends."
A hotel would also increase Tauranga's accommodation capacity in peak summer periods and help in the shoulder season, particularly with events such as AIMS Games, he said.
Cowley said such a project 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."
"A well-designed facility in the heart of the city centre that targets the national conference and events market will bring additional visitors into the region. It will also complement Tauranga's growing reputation for holding nationally significant events."
Lemongrass Catering's Belinda Lombard said the proposed hotel was a "fantastic idea".
"Should we be doing it? Absolutely."
Lombard 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 as its tourism attractions were "just 45 minutes away".
"What we need to do is go the whole hog and build something."
As part of a 12-year partnership with Tauranga City Council signed in 2018, development company Willis Bond was tasked with investigating opportunities to use council land for a CBD hotel, among other projects.
Council chief executive Marty Grenfell said the partnership, with mana whenua and Studio Pacific Architects was in the process of refreshing a civic masterplan.
"It is expected the refresh will include places for gathering, learning, exploring, debating, entertaining and remembering the past and include the possibility of facilities such as a discovery centre, library, museum, public meeting venues and open space, performance venue, conference centre and a hotel," Grenfell said.
The masterplan refresh was expected to be completed later this year.
Successive councils have discussed the prospect of an international brand hotel in Tauranga.
By the numbers
Rotorua has more than 10 branded hotels which equate to about 800 hotel rooms at 4-Star plus/4 star level and another 400 at 4-Star. This is supplemented by hundreds of motel, lodge and peer-to-peer accommodation units.
A tavern operating without a duty manager also found in breach.