Bay well placed for global role

The tourism industry can achieve anything it wants, through collaboration and passion, says Hawke's Bay-based event producer Bruce Mctaggart. Photo / Duncan Brown

Hawke's Bay could be a world leader in event hosting, says seasoned event producer Bruce Mctaggart.

Mr Mctaggart has wide experience in event promotion including his Walking With Dinosaurs show - the largest-selling touring show in history with its 10 millionth ticket due to be sold this year.

Speaking at Thursday's Hawke's Bay Tourism Industry Conference he said that through "leadership and passion, collaborating and working together for a common cause" Hawke's Bay could have an events calendar to make the most of its existing attributes and kick start economic growth.

"We have this wonderful canvas, rich in colour, we just have to work out the things we want to focus on," he said.

"We are sitting here in Hawke's Bay in what I believe is the most gorgeous part of earth, with a whole lot of people with great physical and intellectual capability.

"I believe we can create and own things in the event space if we are able to work together creatively, if we all passionately believe it is possible."

To attract visitors and stimulate growth "we've got to find the space that no one else is working".

"Let's create something else that is novel, different and we can own."

He said Melbourne's 2005 hosting of the World Police and Fire Games, now an event second-only to the Olympics in the number of participants for an athletic event, kicked off the city's successful event calendar.

New Zealand and Australia had participated since its inception in the 1980s but the games had never been held outside the United States. A group from Melbourne sold the idea of hosting the games but the Californian organisers "were pretty nervous".

"They knew what they were doing - they had thousands of people turning up each year. There was a huge risk in moving.

"We all worked on budgets of about 4000 attending because of the distance, cost and expense."

But 13,000 athletes turned up - almost double the usual number. "More importantly they were family people and brought them with them.

"They decided if they were going to make this trip to Australia they were going to do the whole thing - visit other states."

Their average stay was about a week longer than most tourists to Australia.

Through collaboration the organisers put on an elaborate opening event - a first for the games - and achieved worldwide press coverage due to a picture of the games' flame being lit from a fire ladder.

"There were 88,000 Melbournians in awe sitting in the stands at the MCG to watch the ceremony and 13,000 police and fire officers watched in awe as they were being acknowledged.

"That proved Melbourne could host major events and the message of major events caught fire in the community."

He said if Hawke's Bay tourist providers had the will to collaborate they too could deliver outstanding events.

"We will never do it though if we seek to deal with individual events."

The tourism industry needed to take the lead.

"If you don't speak out and if you don't support it why would the schoolteacher or pharmacist, even though they would benefit."

He suggested a food conference for Hawke's Bay and gave the example of the World Economic Forum, where a simple idea had lasting benefit.

"That was created by a man who owned a motel in an alpine village who was trying to think what he could do to bring tourism to his village outside the tourist season.

"He conceived of bringing the world leaders together in a place where they could think informally about the economics of the world."

The event was still owned by his village.