Latin American ambassadors visit Rotorua (+ video)

Three Latin American ambassadors have had a full-on day in Rotorua, seeing what the city has to offer and interacting with local businesses.

The visit could result in a new festival for Rotorua in 2017.

Rotorua MP Todd McClay hosted the ambassadors from Argentina, Cuba, and Mexico on Wednesday, their day starting with a welcome from Te Arawa Lakes Trust and a talk about local iwi.

They visited Rainbow Springs and enjoyed a tour of the kiwi programme, as well as meeting with both the Chamber of Commerce and Rainbow Springs management.

They then went on to Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology (formerly Waiariki) where they took part in a tourism sector meeting with about 50 local tourism and accommodation businesses.

The day finished off with a Rotorua Latin American community reception.

Ambassador of Mexico Jose Traslosheros Hernandez talks with Toi Oho Mai Interim Chief Executive Dr Neil Barns. 26 Photo/Ben Fraser

New Zealand was starting to see more visitors from Latin American countries and there was a lot of potential from these markets, Mr McClay said.

He said the three ambassadors' countries collectively represented 170 million people, who were also consumers and tourists.

Mr McClay said in the past eight months the number of tourists visiting New Zealand from Argentina had increased by about 300 per cent.

There were also opportunities in the education industry, as 1000 young Argentinians came to New Zealand on working holidays each year.

Hosting a Latin American culture and music festival in Rotorua next year had been discussed with the ambassadors, Mr McClay said.

"There is a lot of interest from the rest of the world in what Rotorua is doing, and Rotorua is hungry to build on its potential."

Mexican Ambassador Jose Traslosheros Hernandezsaid Mexico had "a wonderful image" of New Zealand and that they had learnt to appreciate the Kiwi culture.

During the meeting, Cuban ambassador Mario Alzugaray Rodriguezsaid Cuba and New Zealand had a lot in common, with Cuba also being a small island.

He was interested in trying to bring Cuba's tourism sector and potentially some tourism businesses here.

Ambassador from Argentina Fausto Lopez Crozetsaid his country would like to improve its relations with New Zealand in sport. He said both countries were also keen on agriculture and Argentina's farmers were now looking at Kiwi farmers more as people to co-operate, rather than compete, with.