The
Bay of Plenty has unveiled a bold new tourism campaign in an attempt to
erase "horrific images" of oiled beaches and dead wildlife from the
minds of potential visitors.
The region has rebranded itself with
the slogan "It's not called the Bay of Plenty for nothing" following the
Rena grounding 12 nautical miles off Tauranga's coast in October.
The
maritime environmental disaster, the worst in New Zealand's history,
spilled 350 tonnes of oil into the ocean and ensured shocking images of
the region's celebrated coastline were splashed across national and
international media.
Tourism Bay of Plenty this week announced a
new "recovery campaign" to help lure back the visitors who have
cancelled summer trips to the area.
"There's been lots of horrific
images out there in the press post the Rena grounding, and a lot of
editorial around what that means," campaign manager Linda Macpherson
told NZ Newswire.
"It's time to restore our reputation.
"What
we're saying now is `come' - the beaches are open and there's so much
to do here, to feast on, to enjoy. In fact, it's better than ever."
A survey in the weeks after the Rena grounding confirmed that over half of tourism operators were suffering after the spill.
Ms
Macpherson said more recent figures showed the Christmas and New Year
periods would be as busy as usual but things were less certain from
February to April.
"Based on bookings and anecdotal evidence, it may be very quiet," she said.
Tourism is worth $450 million to the region, with the bulk of revenue flowing from domestic visitors.
The
full $500,000 campaign, including billboards, radio, online, newspaper
and television ads, has yet to be funded but the agency is hopeful of
support from council, government and companies associated with the Rena.
NZN