"It's a fantastic opportunity for Rotorua to cement its Festival set to 'inject millions'
position as one of the best mountain biking destinations on the planet," he said.
"It's really exciting and it's a huge privilege to hold this event in Rotorua."
Mr Donaldson said the event, which would attract thousands of national and international visitors, would benefit local businesses, restaurants, tourism, and the hospitality and accommodation sectors.
"If this [Crankworx Whistler] is anything to go by, it's going to be a wonderful thing for the city."
There will also be a raft of other events surrounding the festival for amateur and non-bikers, including a soon-to-be-announced music festival featuring some of New Zealand's top music artists.
Skyline's Mountain Bike Gravity Park, which recently received $225,000 in government funding, will host the mountain biking events, with Eat Streat the base for the music festival, prize-giving and competitions.
Run in conjunction with Canadian owners Crankworx Events Incorporated, the local festival operator and organiser will be not-for-profit company Mountain Bike Events Ltd, a public-private joint venture of Rotorua District Council, Skyline Rotorua, and the owner of Multi-Day Adventures and Mountain Bike Rotorua, Tak Mutu.
Mr Mutu, who was also in Whistler along with New Zealand Giant 2W Enduro series director Neil Gellatly and Skyline Rotorua general manager Bruce Thomasen, said he was thrilled.
"We are so stoked to be bringing Crankworx to our home town Rotorua. I can't think of a better place to bring the world to showcase our adventurous spirit and culture," he said. "The benefit to both the community and the economy is going to be huge."
He said top New Zealand artists had already been secured for the music festival, a great opportunity to showcase New Zealand's emerging music industry on the world stage.
"It's not all about the biking at Crankworx -- a lot but not all."
Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick said that, while she did not have an exact figure, the event would inject millions into the Rotorua economy.
"This is the equivalent of securing the Olympics of mountain bike festivals and the whole community of Rotorua will get behind it, as we did with the worlds [world championships]. We are really believing in our ability to achieve our dreams," she said.
Mrs Chadwick said it was a dream to secure the event, which had taken months of collaboration and hard work.
"The collaborative effort of the [organisers] to secure this bid is rapidly becoming the way Rotorua works together to get stuff done," she said.
The Crankworx festival was born and bred in Whistler and is in its 11th year of operation.
