Our View: Coveting thy neighbour's tourists

Just a hop, skip and a jump from Rotorua lies the behemoth we once knew as three different towns: Tauranga, the Mount and Papamoa.
There's long been a fair amount of good-natured rivalry between the Bay of Plenty's two main centres, which not so long ago, you may remember, were of a similar size.
And why shouldn't it be good-natured? We've still got a few things in common - the Steamers, Chiefs and Magic, a love of the water, and, erm, a phone book.
Of course, some of these things are also the source of our sibling rivalry. Little brother grew up, took all the toys and left home.
First Tauranga took pride of place unannounced at the front of the phone book, thoroughly confusing Rotorua locals used to finding their numbers in prime position.
Then they got themselves a semi-decent stock-car-track-cum-rugby-venue (though it has nothing on Rotorua's stadium) and swiped our Steamers matches.
To add insult to injury, it swallowed some of our favourite beach spots, Mount and Papamoa, doubled in size in a few short years and got its picture on the TV weather.
But jealous? Not us.
We're quite happy living here, surrounded by natural wonders in a city where traffic woes mean sitting at the Amohau St lights for little more than 60 seconds.
It seems the green-eyed monster actually lives at the other end of State Highway 36, hungrily eyeing our precious tourists who arrive in their thousands by cruise ship at the Port of Tauranga, hop on the bus and head straight to our Thermal Wonderland.
It's been suggested Tauranga build its own Maori performing arts centre to try to stop tourists leaving town. But there's so much more to Rotorua than just our fantastic Maori culture, so the tourists will keep on coming.
And we're happy to share a few visitors with our neighbour. District councillor Trevor Maxwell makes a good point when he says Tauranga should be thanking its lucky stars it's so close to Rotorua.
Otherwise they might miss out altogether.