Stephanie Worsop: Want to kill Rotorua's tourism industry? Oppose good ventures

The proposed venture would fly over the Kaituna River. Photo / File

COMMENT

It ticks all the boxes.

It would offer jobs and transport for locals, look after the environment, inject money into the local economy and could provide a world-class attraction.

But the proposal to set up a new sustainable tourism venture at Okere Falls has been opposed by more than half the submitters who had their say.

Of the 45 submissions received in response to a new zipline tourist attraction at Okere Falls - a joint venture between Rotorua Rafting's Sam Sutton and Māori landowners from Ngāti Hinerangi-Ngāti Hinekiri, 25 were against it.

The reasons for objecting range from concerns the environmental impact has been downplayed to fears the new venture will overpopulate the already well-used reserve.

Other concerns centre on noise and visual disruptions and increased traffic flow.

Some of these are legitimate concerns and could be addressed in public meetings with Sutton but the cynic in me can't help but wonder if many of the other submissions were made in the mindset, "it's new, it's competition, I don't want it".

Given some of the submitters who oppose the venture are tourism operators themselves, I don't need to explain how Rotorua was built on the roots of tourism and much of the local economy only exists and thrives because of its existence.

If from the outset we had adopted the view that any attraction relying on natural landmarks shouldn't be allowed to operate, I'd wager 90 per cent of the tourist activities available in Rotorua wouldn't exist.

Intrepid 19th-century tourists were drawn to Rotorua for the natural wonder that was the Pink and White Terraces. Would the city even exist today if that early tourism venture hadn't kick-started the industry?

Don't mistake this for me advocating to exploit our natural resources. We absolutely need to protect our natural taonga so we can continue to enjoy and share it for years to come.

But it's ventures like Sutton's that we should be supporting - ones that will have economic value while offsetting the environmental impact by regenerating native bush, lowering carbon footprints and supporting pest control.

There are many successful tourism operators currently reaping the rewards of Rotorua's natural taonga while giving back significantly less.

Should we tell them all to pack up and move along? Or do we operate on a first-come, first-served basis, never allowing for new, potentially better, sustainable business opportunities to grow?

If Rotorua develops a reputation for opposing any new venture looking to set up here, the city will be left behind and eventually, the tourism that it so heavily relies on will dry up.

Then we'll see who the real losers are.