TRENZ is just around corner

TRENZ 2009, being held in Auckland from June 8 to 11, is now just days away. Fifteen local operators will be joining DRTM under the Rotorua banner with a significant number of other local operators sited in other national rather than regional areas. GM Don Gunn, Assistant GM Ruth Crampton and International Co-ordinator James Fitzgerald from the office will be in attendance undertaking a double appointment stream. Rotorua’s diverse product range and natural resources are a great fit with this year’s TRENZ theme, “Get a real sense of NZ”.

Trade and media magazine   

The TRENZ edition In Essence is now printed. Hard copies are due to be released at TRENZ and a mail-out will be undertaken next month. For those of you who can’t wait, the PDF version is already available as a download off our rotoruaNZ.com website. 

Auckland IBO days

Don and James had two days of IBO (inbound operator) training in Auckland May 12 and 13. James says they got a good response from both product managers and GMs on the first day and frontliners on the second day. New and re-developed Rotorua product and new combo packages were included in the updates. Don said the soft launch of the new trade area of rotoruaNZ.com was “very well received”.

Fishing one of our fortes  

Fish Rotorua, a joint venture with Fish and Game at this month’s Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show, proved to be a great success. Domestic and Events Co-ordinator Craig Hammond attended the May 14-17 consumer show at the ASB Showgrounds in Auckland as part of DRTM’s domestic activity. Craig says the stand, targeting Aucklanders to fish the Rotorua region, generated a good level of interest. The promotional mix also showcased Rotorua’s abundance of activities to keep non-fishing partners and children entertained. Operators keen to be considered for inclusion in future consumer shows/promotions should contact Craig on craig@rotoruanz.com  

Pursuing Aussie potential

Assistant GM Ruth Crampton was in Australia last week undertaking sales calls on all key wholesalers, PCOs and C & I clients with potential to book business to Rotorua. She visited Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne with a group of Rotorua operators to make joint sales calls. She also got the opportunity to pitch Rotorua to tour directors from EF, a student travel group, who were gathered in Sydney for training. Ruth says the big buzz with the Australians she met with was they had all seen Rotorua featured on the Aussie version of the Biggest Loser reality TV show, which aired on Channel Nine last week. Two episodes were filmed in Rotorua, and among the local product featured during the contestant’s challenges were Mt Tarawera Adventures (reflection hike up Mt Tarawera), Helipro (swinging above Mt Tarawera crater and also jumping out of the helicopter into Lake Tarawera) and Raftabout (sledging and rafting). Media Advisor Justine Southwick has yet to get the media results, but will post to rotoruaNZ.com once she receives.

And local C & I markets

C & I Co-ordinator Melissa Clarke spent a few days in Christchurch earlier this month conducting joint calls with Brett Jeffery of Events & Venues. She reports that the mood of Christchurch event organisers was positive and Rotorua is still being looked at for various business events. Melissa also had an overnight trip to Wellington last week conducting joint calls with Kathrine Pearce of Rydges Rotorua. She reports it was another “very positive experience”. The calls are part of a DRTM strategy of developing stronger business relationships by initiating face-to-face meetings and incorporating our local industry partners. Contact melissa@rotoruaNZ.com if you are keen to undertake joint C & I sales calls.

Marathon effort

As a bit of light relief from their working life Don, Justine and our Administration Officer, Karlene McCormick, all undertook to complete the Rotorua marathon on May 2. The trio trained hard and all achieved their personal goals – Justine and Karlene walking and Don run/walking. Don’s effort was as part of a team from the Rotary Club of Rotorua Sunrise in aid of a fundraiser for the Civic Theatre Renovation Project. Well done guys!

Foreign language options expand further

We launched our sixth foreign language website earlier this month. The new German site, rotoruaNZ.de, went live on May 13 to coincide with a Rotorua presence at TNZ cultural mission in German, Switzerland, the Netherlands and UK. Interest has already been very pleasing and Gillian Monahan, TNZ’s PR Manager UK and Europe has offered to include info about the new site in their next German media newsletter. A pared-down version of the main English language website, it features our new German DVD as well as text, imagery and features geared to the interests of German-speaking visitors to New Zealand. One new innovation is a section specifically targeted to the travel trade. DRTM Communications Manager Jill Marshall says more than 3455 browsers from nine German-speaking countries visited the main site in the four months prior to the launch of the stand-alone site. “The new site will better service the significant number of browsers on our main site whose first language is German, and will also target the segment of the German-speaking market who would appreciate information in their own language.” Feedback from German-based Joerg-Matthias Lenz supports this view. “This is a great statement that you are interested in the German-speaking market, which of course has a lot to offer for destinations such as Rotorua. You may know that 60,000 Germans are visiting NZ annually and you have a high reputation as a destination.” Joerg-M is the editor of the www.australien-info.de and www.stopover-info.de websites.

Trade section another success

Although yet to be officially launched (it’s being unveiled and promoted to the travel trade at TRENZ), the new trade section of rotoruaNZ.com is already coming in for praise. Bjoern Spreitzer, TNZ’s Manager for Germany, Switzerland and Austria said “Congratulations to the new trade website - it is looking very good. I would like to put a feature about it into our next trade newsletter that goes out to all our German, Swiss and Austrian trade contacts.” Joerg-Matthias Lenz (as mentioned above) said “Congratulations on the very informative and educative trade section of the website of Rotorua as well as the In Essence magazine - very inspiring as is your video.”  At this stage the new trade area is available on the main site as well our German, Korean and Chinese language sites in addition to Japanese, French and Spanish inclusions will be rolled out as budget allows.

Still moving forward

The upward trend on rotoruaNZ.com continues. The April/May 2009 period saw a 161% increase (to 45,617) in absolute unique visitors (AUV) compared to the same period last year Despite a small (1.5%) increase in AUVs this month compared to last month, we are still pleased with the result considering the March/April period was a site record due to the Hugh Hefner April Fool’s joke traffic.  

Trading up

A domestic online domestic banner advert on Trade Me this month generated an excellent click through of 12,459 browsers. This resulted in the deals page on rotoruaNZ.com becoming the site’s second most popular page in the past month after the home page. The advert highlighted a trend that has been developing by the addition of a ‘deals’ box to our homepage earlier this year. Between Jan and April ’09 the site’s Hot Deals page moved from 19th to 10th position, and this past month it was ranked 5th most popular page. The combo of highlighting our deals and browsers looking for offers appears to be a winner. A new series of banner ads on Trade Me is scheduled to start in July.

Good news from bad, si?

The news of the accidental multi-millionaires who fled Rotorua after a bank error credited a business account with $10m helped drive traffic to both rotoruaNZ.com and our stand-alone Spanish language site. The No.1 referring website to rotoruaNZ.com in the past month was elpais.com. The bank blunder article on elpais.com had a link to rotoruaNZ.com which sent more than 530 visitors to rotoruaNZ.com. Almost 200 of those who followed the link went on to click on our Spanish flag (linked to rotoruaNZ.es) causing a dramatic spike in the visits to our Spanish language website.

We know it!

The latest Regional Visitor Monitor (RVM) confirms that New Zealand travellers are increasingly using the internet to book more than just accommodation. In a statement released by the Ministry of Tourism last Friday, Research Manager Bruce Bassett said, “We’re seeing a real trend to domestic travel being booked online across a range of travel purchases. Phone bookings are definitely becoming less popular compared to the internet.” Online accommodation bookings by RVM respondents have increased 16% since 2007 (up from 42% to 58%), while phone bookings have fallen 14% (down from 44% to 30%). Online activity and attraction bookings by RVM respondents have increased from 55% to 62% since 2007, while phone bookings have fallen from 24% to 19%. Another key result is that domestic travellers are upping the amount of research they are doing before they visit a destination. Pre-trip research has increased by 39% since 2007, and much of this is being done online. Bruce says the findings show that tourism operators needed to get their inventory web-ready and keep their web content fresh and relevant. “The data sends a clear message to operators that domestic travellers (who account for 56% of tourism spend in New Zealand) are expecting to be able to plan and book as much as they can online. It’s important for operators to make sure their website meets this expectation.” A partnership between the Ministry of Tourism, Tourism New Zealand and the Regional Tourism Organisations for Auckland, Rotorua, Wellington, Canterbury, Queenstown and Dunedin, the RVM benchmark report is available from www.tourismresearch.govt.nz/rvm.

Isolation island popular

Never ones to follow the leader, the team at Agroventures decided to put their own spin on last weekend’s 40 Hour Famine in support of World Vision. GM of Sales and Marketing Melissa Mills worked with Chris Reeder of The Edge radio station with an idea to organise nine people willing to spend going 40 hours on Isolation Island, in the middle of their Agrojet course, starting at 5pm on Friday night. The pay off was $3500 raised for World Vision, a pile of canned food donated to the local St Johns Food Bank, a Kiwi Experience Bay of Islands/Coromandel trip for two staying at YHA Hostels for winner Holly Gray, an increased profile for Agroventures, and lots of happy visitors enjoying discounted Agroventures rides. The competitors had to survive a number of challenges included log rolling in the Agrojet pond, Shweeb racing, cardboard boat racing, island tug-of-war, cooking breakfast, giant Pictionary, memory challenges, and Swoop target shooting. Holly beat out Kelly Hemana in the final challenge where they had to do all five Agroventures activities in the shortest amount of time.

One day sun, the next snow

This great pix was taken by Tarawera resident Meg Lipscombe last Thursday when Rotorua recorded temperatures in the minus category for the first time this year. The enthusiastic photographer braved the cold at 8.15am to capture the tranquillity of snow-capped Mt Tarawera from the lawn at Soliatire Lodge. Meg has taken some other great shots taken in the Tarawera area that you can see in our autumn seasonal gallery.

Hosted in great style 

Events play a huge part in the make up of visitors to Rotorua so it was great to get this excellent feedback from a Sydneysider who came here especially for an event. Sarah Woodland was part of a team of 10 who came over from Australia to do the Lion Foundation marathon earlier this month. Afterwards she wrote to Event Manager Angela Salmon to “Congratulate and thank everyone else who played a part in making the marathon such a successful and pleasurable event. From the mayoral welcome and the volunteers on the day right through to the mums, dads and kids cheering along the sidelines and the people serving us in the cafes afterwards, everyone was unfailingly friendly and did their bit to make the weekend a success and it showed at every level. The atmosphere was just incredible. Thank you again, my whole team of 10 had a ball and we all agreed that it was a very special event hosted in great style.”

Promo starts for RWC2011

Calling rugby fans - do you know of a good local rugby-related story? The Tourism New Zealand media team is looking for some rugby-related story angles to get the PR machine rolling prior to the Rugby World Cup being held in New Zealand in 2011. Contact DRTM Media Advisor Justine Southwick justine@rotoruaNZ.com with your ideas and suggestion and she will pass them on to TNZ. Rotorua is to host three games during the cup series.

Rafting highly competitive 

Some of you will remember from our last newsletter that DRTM branded up the New Zealand men’s rafting team for the world champs currently being held in Bosnia. As five of six team members are locals the ‘Rotorua - feel the Spirit – Manaakitanga’ and ‘Rotorua New Zealand’ message were appropriate for them to carry on clothing and helmets. The team placed 12th out of 53 teams in last Friday’s downriver with Hungary, Brazil, Russia, Germany and Japan taking the top five places. Kim Chater, wife of team member Nick Chater, says “The boys would like to be doing better but I think it’s a fantastic effort as the teams are very competitive with only 38:11 seconds between first and twelfth place!” We have yet to hear results from the slalom and the night slalom events.

Saying ‘thanks’ in style 

Fantastic to hear that Clyde Farquhar and Cynthia Hawkins from Cleveland Motel won the $15,000 Harley Davidson Sportster Soft Tail 883 motorcycle that was up for grabs as a ‘thank you’ from the Tamaki brothers. Haven’t seen Clyde and Cynthia burning up the streets on their new Harley but hear the motorcycle, trike and hot rod enthusiasts are “absolutely delighted” with the win. The Harley was presented to the happy pair during a lunch for local accommodation providers at Tamaki’s headquarters on April 30. The Cleveland Motel operators said “they worked really hard to win the bike” by chalking up the highest percentage increase in Tamaki sales (by a Rotorua accommodation provider) in the six months between October 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009. Harley Davidson motorcycles have been synonymous with the Tamaki brothers (pictured) since the early days, when Mike convinced his younger brother, Doug, to sell his prized Harley Davidson motorcycle so the pair could buy a 16-seater minibus to get the new business off the ground. Despite the growth since those early days, the brothers say they would be nowhere without the Rotorua local accommodation segment, who have remained loyal and steady suppliers over the past 20 years. “Long before tourism distribution even knew we were around, it was the local accommodation sector and the i-SITE office who took a punt on us as newcomers,” said Mike. “While the knockers saw our concept of taking culture out of the hotel and back to the land as radical and sure to fail, these guys started booking their guests on our tour. The feedback proved their decision right and they have been loyal ever since.” The brothers reckoned a Harley seemed the most appropriate way of saying thanks for this loyal local support.

Rotorua riders made NZ team

Five Rotorua mountain bikers have been selected for the New Zealand team for this year’s UCI Mountainbike World Championships. Alexa and Dirk Peters and Patrick Avery will compete in the Under 19 category, Monique Avery in the Under 23 section and Gabby Molloy in the Downhill – Elite field. One of Rotorua’s better-known riders, Monique won the 2007 XTERRA World Championships in Hawaii in her age group. She was the only junior female in New Zealand to qualify for the world championship event. The UCI Mountainbike World Championships will be held in Canberra from September 1-6. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Mountain Bike World Championships cover cross country, downhill, four-cross and trials events. The UCI worlds were held in Rotorua in 2006.

Opera lovers in lap of luxury 

Wouldn’t you love to be at ‘Opera Interludes’ with the New Zealand Opera being hosted at Treetops Lodge and Wilderness Estate, June 19 and 20. Priced at $1353 plus GST per person share twin/double, the “two-night privileged escape” will combine operatic melodies, gorgeous voices and outstanding cuisine in a truly European style soiree. The NBR New Zealand Opera will present The Opera Ball, a Viennese operetta, on the first evening followed by a concert performance of favourite arias on the second night. The 2-night package includes pre-dinner drinks, a 4-course gourmet meal and full breakfast each day plus the use of the lodge facilities.

Rotorua man in running as next TV bachelor?

Are you a single, good-looking man who is looking for love and a lot of fun? If so, you could be the man Tourism New Zealand is looking for. Following the success of US television show The Bachelor filming their final two episodes in New Zealand, TNZ is encouraging Kiwi bachelors to apply to be the show’s next star. TNZ Chief Executive George Hickton says a Kiwi bachelor would put New Zealand in the spotlight in the US and around the world as The Bachelor is shown. “Millions of Americans saw how beautiful New Zealand was earlier this year on The Bachelor. If the next bachelor is a New Zealander, it will be a great opportunity for Americans to learn more about our amazing country, our stunning landscapes and, of course, our friendly locals,” George said. TNZ has set up a special Facebook page with more information about The Bachelor and a direct link to the application forms. Interested? Click here for more details but you’ll need to be quick as entries close May 31.

Blues Fest

Seismic Gastrobar will be celebrating the long Queen’s Birthday weekend by hosting the Mike Garner Band on Saturday, May 30, from 3pm to 5pm and Lyndsey and Keith on Sunday, May 31, from 3pm to 5pm as part of the Rotorua Blues Fest (go to rotoruaNZ.com for full details). They will be open on Monday too – and without a surcharge. Check out the new winter menu by their new head chef, Craig Skews. Craig has been in the industry for more than 16 years and has a passion for food and producing fabulous meals.

Domestic visitors still spending

Spending by domestic travellers in the year to December 2008 increased across all areas. Research released by the Ministry of Tourism at the end of April shows the spend by domestic travellers increased by 6.2% to $8.1 billion, the spend by day-trippers increased by 14.5% to $2.9 billion and the spend on overnight trips increased, by 2.0% to $5.1 billion. Ministry of Tourism Research Manager Bruce Bassett said that a number of changing influences affected the domestic travel industry in 2008. “Early on, high fuel prices were an influence in reducing travel activity, but as prices eased travel picked up, particularly by those taking day trips, and those visiting friends and relatives (VFR).” VFR travellers increased their spending by 15.5% to reach $2.5 billion. Holiday travellers also increased their spending by 4% to $3.2 billion although spending by business travellers declined by 1.3% to $2.1 billion. Bruce added that the VFR travel segment was one of the most resilient travel groups and that this was also true for international travel over this period. “The positive domestic spend result reflects the resilience of the tourism industry, and that taking a holiday or a short break is an essential part of the Kiwi lifestyle.” The Domestic Travel Survey is a telephone survey of 15,000 New Zealand residents undertaken throughout the year. Data and reports from the survey are available on the Ministry of Tourism’s research website.

Jump to it, men!

Rotorua MP Todd McClay and Tauranga National MP Simon Bridges made the ultimate jump for a good cause on May 4. The two MPs made the ‘leap of faith’ with tandem skydive company NZONE Rotorua to raise funds for the Rotorua Hospital and Canteen, the charity that supports young people living with cancer. NZONE Rotorua Operations Manager Keith Gallaher said the fundraising opportunity came about as a result of a fun bet he made with Todd. He roped Simon into the challenge in order to raise even more money. Todd said there had been a few nerves as the pair flew up to 12,000 feet before launching themselves out of the plane with their tandem instructors but said the experience was fantastic. “The most enjoyable bit was the freefall, the rush of adrenalin and air before the canopy opened.” The pair raised more than $1000 to help buy toys and games for the children’s rehabilitation at Rotorua Hospital and for Canteen. They both pledged an additional $300 to the total fund.

Boutique accommodation owners remain upbeat

Owners of some of New Zealand’s finest boutique accommodation have expressed confidence in the ongoing success of the luxury end of the tourism market. Heritage & Character Inns of New Zealand, representing 85 luxury properties throughout New Zealand, held its annual conference in Rotorua earlier this month and, according to conference organiser Louise Kiely, the mood was upbeat. “Our member properties are boutique accommodation providers offering quality holiday experiences highly valued by global visitors,” said Louise, a Heritage & Character Inns board member. “They’re reporting strong forward bookings for this winter and into next summer.” She went on to say people in this end of the market do not compromise on their need for quality. She believes New Zealand has a number of advantages as a destination which makes it attractive in the current global environment. “Our dollar is very soft making New Zealand increasingly affordable for our visitors, airfares are cheaper than ever and New Zealand remains a highly desirable destination.” Held at the Novotel Lakeside Rotorua hotel, the conference was opened by the Associate Minister of Tourism, the Hon Jonathan Coleman, who acknowledged the importance of tourism to the New Zealand economy and its place as a driver for employment and export earnings.

New treat for ‘water warriors’

A chance to discover local history while enjoying some Rotorua water-based adventure is the basis of a new half-day combo for Water Warriors. Kawarau Jet, Mana Adventures and River Rats Rafting have joined together to offer a new package that involves a jet boat trip across Lake Rotorua to the Ohau Channel, paddling a waka through the channel while a guide relates stories of the area, then rafting the Kaituna River including going over the 7m Tutea Falls. The package is available for eight to 48 guests.

She has a dream

Viv Sutton, owner/operator Babymoon Ltd, has a dream. She wants Rotorua to become known as ‘the’ place for pregnant couples to holiday. Viv launched her new company in February 2009, and says she has already had significant interest. Pre-birth holidays for pregnant couples, Babymoons are an established trend overseas – and something Viv sees huge potential for in New Zealand. She thinzks Rotorua is the perfect place for parents–to-be to spend time together, relax, be pampered and experience the best of what the city has to offer. Check out her website babymoon.co.nz

UFO at Redwoods

In case you haven’t caught up with the news, the ‘UFO’ that took off from its Rotorua Lakefront site late last year ended up in the Whakarewarewa Forest. Redwoods Forest and Visitor Centre Manager Julianne Wilkinson says she was happy to give the simulator a home in the Redwoods. Looking for all the world like a UFO (unidentified flying object), the Zajon’s advanced pneumatic movement and high definition audio-visual technology delivers thrill-seeking activities quickly, safely and at a comparatively low cost. It operates from 9.30am daily including public holidays whatever the weather.

Good credentials

Craig Martin is the new head chef at Peppers On The Point. Born and raised in Rotorua, Craig began cooking with Peter Peeti (now a local celebrity chef through TV’s Kai Time series) at the Rendezvous in 1995. He then worked at Zanelli's Italian and Poppy’s Villa before joining the award-wining team at Bistro 1284 under Damon McGinnis were he stayed for four years. Treetops Estate beckoned where he had a chance to work alongside Maori chef Charles Royal and become involved in the indigenous Maori food trail. Three and half years later he joined the Energy Events Centre catering team before moving to Peppers in 2007. An opportunity to travel to Eastern Europe and China with a kapa haka group took Craig away from Peppers last year but on his return to Rotorua he was offered the head chef role.

Dedicated to their chosen sport

Today (Friday, May 29) is the last of day of work at RDC for Jess Nelson, Community Programmes and Events Co-ordinator at Events & Venues. She and her husband Guy are basing themselves in the US for the next three months to train for the Triathlon World Champs in Australia later this year. The couple will represent New Zealand at the Triathlon World Championships being held on the Gold Coast in September. They aim to train up to 20 hours a week at altitude in Colorado Springs and race as much as they can to prepare themselves for the ‘Worlds’. They plan to return to Rotorua at the end of October.

Discover Jimmy’s place

Jimmy Cooks is the name of the newly re-launched restaurant at the Kingsgate Hotel. Named after English explorer Captain James Cook who visited New Zealand three times in the 18th C charting and naming many points of interest. Reputed to be a forthright man of peasant stock whose grasp of good nutrition was ahead of his time (which saved his crew from the likes of scurvy), James Cook would probably have approved of the new a la carte menu at his namesake restaurant. It offers lashing of good basic, well-loved Kiwi fare with a retro feel – things like shrimp cocktail, crumbed scallops, crumbed camembert with plum sauce, steak with mushroom sauce and apple crumble. The Great Kiwi Buffet is still on offer too.  

Are we the top ‘one less car town’?

Breakfast's roving weather presenter Tamati Coffey was in Rotorua yesterday, May 28, doing live feeds from Agroventures. TVNZ’s Breakfast show roving weather presenter visited Agroventures as part of his 'Transport Tiki Tour' of New Zealand. He is journeying around the country researching how Kiwis travel to work or school in a bid to find New Zealand’s Top ‘One Less Car On The Road’ Town. Five live feeds from Agroventures featured on Breakfast at 6.40am, 7.10am, 7.40am, 8.10am and 8.40am. Tamati chatted with bike enthusiasts Mayor Kevin Winters and councillors Karen Hunt and Dave Donaldson out on their sustainable transport. Pupils from Lynmore, Otonga and Westbrook Primary Schools showed their 'one less car' support with walking buses.

Bronze ‘star’ for environmental practices

Agrojet has taken its commitment to the environment to a whole new level, becoming the first jet boat company in New Zealand to achieve a Qualmark Enviro-bronze accreditation. It is one of only two jet boat operations in the country to achieve the responsible tourism benchmark. Operations and Marketing Manager Jason Trask says the Qualmark Enviro-bronze accreditation means Agrojet is based on sound environmental principles. “We are proud of this new achievement and our efforts to integrate environmentally responsible activities into our day-to-day operations. Obviously as a jet boat operation we have our own challenges in terms of operating efficiently and environmentally responsibly, but our core mission is to be cleaner, greener and safer while protecting the environment  - and providing a great experience.” Jason adds their goal is to be the most environmentally friendly jet boat operation in New Zealand - if not the world.

Sustainability in action

 The Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter is holding one of its popular ‘Sustainability in Action’ functions on Wednesday, June 24. In the spirit of sharing sustainability information between Charter members, the function is being hosted by member Rydges Rotorua. It will begin with a short presentation by the host highlighting some of their sustainability actions implemented and planned for the future. Guest speakers Andy McCallum of Frontline Cleaning Supplies and Glen Senior of Hygiene Technologies will then present on steam-cleaning equipment and cleaning with micro-fibre; options that accommodation providers in particular will find useful. There will be an opportunity for attendees to network over afternoon tea. The function starts at 1.30pm and is free of charge however, due to limited capacity, non-Charter members will be placed on standby and places confirmed a week prior. RSVP by Wednesday, June 17, to gina@rotoruaNZ.com

Andrew Newton - International Hypnotist
June 4
NZ’s favourite international hypnotist is back. All your favourite scenarios and plenty of new ones. More laughs than you could imagine.

RATS Winter Duathlon Series - Race 1
June 7
The RATS Winter Duathlon Series is back again this year. The 2009 series will start and finish at the Waipa carpark at 10am.

2009 Targa Rotorua
June 12-14
The Targa Rotorua is expected to have around 100 rally cars racing through 334km of special stages over the weekend. Come along and enjoy the fun.

N-Duro Winter Mountain Bike Series: Race 1
June 14
The first race of the N-Duro Winter Mountain Bike Series. Race over a challenging terrain on a one lap course in the Whakarewarewa trail network.

Billy Ocean in concert
June 20
Billy Ocean is the biggest black recording star Britain has ever produced, selling over 30 million records.

Netball - Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic vs Canterbury Tactix
June 22
Magic go head to head with the Tactix at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre.

Nature Valley N-Trail Run Series: Race 2
June 28
The 2009 N-Trail 5 race series will be held at various locations across the Bay of Plenty. Short, medium and long courses.

For more information on these and other events, go to rotoruaNZ.com/events

We have collected your contact details. This information is collected to enable us to keep you up to date with tourism news pertinent to the Rotorua tourism market and keep you informed of the activities of the Destination Rotorua Marketing office. We will not disclose your contact details to third parties.

Jill Marshall
Communications Manager
Destination Rotorua Marketing
Private Bag 3007, Rotorua
Phone +64 7 349 7285
Fax +64 7 349 4133
jill@rotoruaNZ.com