15 July 2025: tourism, homeless sleep pods, dirt bikes
Media: Local Democracy Reporter
Topic: Tourism
Enquiry
I am just looking to dive a bit further into some of the domestic tourism stuff that came up in the meeting on Wednesday. Sorry, I have only just managed to get it on to my plate.
I was really wondering if Mayor Tapsell might have some comment on the improvement in those domestic tourism numbers, especially among Aucklanders.
Namely:
- What does she believe are the key factors behind this renaissance?
- How can they capitalise on this?
- Why is it important that Rotorua is seen as a popular domestic destination?
Response
From Mayor Tapsell:
“Tourism and hospitality contribute significantly to jobs in Rotorua. Attracting visitors can be very competitive, not just to get them to our district, but also to our country. It's important that we don't get complacent, so we've put a lot of effort and smart investment into unique initiatives to promote Rotorua for its wide range of adventure and spa offerings.
“We’ve seen massive success from an advertising campaign encouraging people to get in the car and come to Rotorua for a Robe Trip. We're well known for our family experiences, but this also promoted Rotorua's unique world-class spa and relaxation experiences to couples and friends in Auckland, as they are our biggest domestic market. This reached 2.4million people and results from surveys asking Aucklanders if they'd visit Rotorua saw an increase from 34% to 73% before and after this advertising. It's been so successful we're humbled to now be a finalist in the New Zealand Marketing Awards which will be held in September this year.
“Most of the international visitors to Rotorua come from Australia. So RotoruaNZ also partnered on a campaign called 2 Easy 2 Book which focused on visitors spending 2 nights in Auckland and 2 nights in Rotorua to encourage people to explore and stay in our regions. I've received lots of great feedback from locals who have appreciated the boost in business and also seeing Rotorua thrive again.
“At the end of the day we know to grow the visitor economy we need to invest, and this money must come from somewhere. So recently we introduced and started collecting an economic development rate from short term accommodation providers like AirBnB which further helps us raise funds to reinvest directly into promoting and marketing our destination to keep attracting visitors. We're excited to see the continuation of results from this focus and support for some of our key industries.”
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Media: Rotorua Daily Post
Topic: Pods for rough sleepers
Enquiry
I'm writing a story today about the Village of Hope being set up in Rotorua by Love Soup for rough sleepers.
I have spoken this morning to Julie King from Love Soup who has told me the details around what they're trying to do.
She has mentioned they have already run into some issues with the council and have been warned about planning and building obligations and their need to have proper consents.
She has forwarded me correspondence they received from Inner City Safety Manager Kylie Kennett.
She said they have been told to cease use of the pods and caravan immediately or face enforcement action.
Can you please respond to the following?
- What are your concerns about the Village of Hope?
- What do they need to do to be compliant?
- Have the issues with the allegations of sexual assault been put to rest? (Julie King claims the allegations are completely false). I'm unsure if I will be reporting this part at this stage but it would be good to have your response in case.
She has said the following, which you might wish to respond to in the interests of fairness and balance:
She said they felt like they were hiding from the council.
She said it was a David versus Goliath situation.
She said the location would remain secret at the moment to protect themselves and protect them from being visited by unwanted people.
She said they knew they needed to go through the right processes but that takes time, and they felt they needed to get the rough sleepers help now.
She said it felt like the council was putting up roadblocks.
"The longer they are out there, the worse it is going to get."
She said most people see them as vermin, but they were people like us.
She said the ones causing the issues for local businesses in town were a minority and some of them weren't even rough sleepers.
She said the ones they were working with were decent human beings and they were hurting. Some were hiding from domestic abuse and some were battling drug addictions and other issues like grief.
Response
We provided the following response:
From the council organisation:
From GM District Development Jean-Paul Gaston:
Council has a legal responsibility for public safety and regulations for provision of accommodation are about protecting the health and safety of people and the surrounding environment.
When we became aware of plans to provide accommodation for rough sleepers we requested a meeting with the group to discuss this as no consent application had been received.
The group have not shared any information with us about what they plan to do – or are doing – or where.
We advised that any type of accommodation requires consent before starting operations and encouraged them to get this process underway. We are happy to continue working with them and will prioritise any meeting required to guide them through the consent processes.
re allegations of sexual assault: That would be a matter for the police
From Mayor Tapsell:
Everyone deserves somewhere safe to sleep and I appreciate the many solutions that locals have suggested. We are fortunate to have a caring community with many organisations and volunteers, like Love soup, providing assistance to those at need.
Unfortunately, we've experienced in the recent past that some solutions for homeless, although well intentioned, have had unintended and severe consequences for our community and even those who are being 'helped' who were put in unsafe environments.
Council has an important job to ensure that dwellings or buildings are legal, fit for purpose, and not a health and safety risk. There are consent requirements that ensure that both people, and the surrounding environment, are protected. And I understand that our Council staff have been in contact with Love Soup over the past week with advice about this.
This is a complex issue that myself and Council are focused on and addressing with urgency. I've been meeting with leaders of a range of Government agencies to ensure we can support safe and long-term local solutions in Rotorua. This includes areas such as housing, health and education, so we can support both those in urgent need, as well as those at risk of being homeless.
Already we are creating a strategic plan to identify the causes of issues, gaps in the services provided, and what solutions will be most appropriate in Rotorua. And we hope by working together we can deliver the best outcomes for everyone.
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Media: Local Democracy Reporter
Topic: Dirt bikes on reserves
Enquiry
We are working on a follow-up story now based on potential solutions to the issue – in particular an idea from one Rotorua resident.
Answers to the following questions below would be great. My deadline is Thursday, so hopefully enough time.
- Would RLC welcome the use of drones as a means of deterring/surveilling potential offenders and protecting their properties?
- Could RLC operate drones over parks and reserves without police authority in order to deter potential vandals?
- Do Council currently have any use of drones or would this need to be an expense?
- Are Council at looking at any other means of protection or deterrence for fields and reserves better suited to two-wheel vehicles?
Response
We provided the following information:
Instances of vandalism are reported to the police and the council uses various way to try and prevent this type of behaviour, such as barriers, bollards and post/rail fencing to prevent motorcycle/vehicle access.
Council has to balance restricting motorcycle/vehicle access with ensuring that reserves and shared paths are accessible for legitimate users like walkers, people on push bikes, people with prams and people using mobility devices.
We need the community’s help to report issues and we have signage at various locations to inform people about how to report illegal riding.
- Call 111 if someone is in danger, and it is happening now.
- Call 105 after it’s happened or log a job online at police.govt.nz/use-105 – Include as many details as possible to help Police identify and locate those responsible. You will be issued with a job number so you can follow up on your report.
- Call Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111 or *555 from a mobile phone - If you would like to report a crime anonymously.
RLC doesn’t have the resources to purchase or operate multiple drones to deter dirt bikers and for anyone using drones, permission is required from owners of land a drone is being flown over so they aren’t necessarily practical for surveillance purposes.
See rules for flying drones here: Using Drones in Rotorua - Rotorua Lakes Council
