ADVERTISING WATERS OF ROTORUA SPA

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 2, Issue 320, 6 September 1932, Page 7

ADVERTISING WATERS OF ROTORUA SPA

SCHEME APPROVED TURNING HEALING PROPERTIES TO COMMERCIAL ACCOUNT. REVIVING BUSINESS. / The news that the Rotorua Borough Council will receive the cooperation of the Railway and Tourist Departments in a combined effort to extend puhlicity regarding the curative properties of the Rotorua baths, has been welcomed in the district and it is felt that Rotorua has much to gain from such a campaign. The matter had its inception a few months ago when it was bought before the Publicity and Ampsement Committee of the Borough Council and, since being taken up by that body, has been the subject of negotiations with the Government Departments concerned. The substance of the scheme was curtained in a report submitted to the Borough Committee by Mr. E. G. Guy, a member of the committee. The report as presented by Mr. Guy is published hereunder: — It will be noted that the scheme is not being carried to the extent of the £1000 as suggested but up to £600 will be spent. It is anticipated that the Railway Publicity Department, under Mr. Stewart, will very soon have the preliminary arrangements in hand. Report to Committee. "Just as Governments, iirms and private individuals in this time of economic stress, are taking stock of their assets and shaping their business policy with a definite objective in view, so in my opinion should municipalities, particularly such a miinicipality as Rotorua, which more than any other Borough in New Zealand, is in the position of being a place with something to sell, in its case tourist and health attractions. Although the growth of Rotorua as shown by statistics has been remarkable during the last ten years, there are aspects of the tourist and health position which should give every resident of the community pause for thought. "It must be conceded that during the last ten years the revolution in the transport business has altered the aspect of affairs very largely, and this, in my opinion, is the main factor which Rotorua, as a community, has to face. The days are. gone when it was difficult to reach Rotorua by car, and our trains no longer hring us hundreds of visitors, either seeking health or amusement, who would pack in at a hotel or accommodation house and stay for anything from a week upwards in order to see the sights or partake of the mineral baths. On the other hand the time has arrived when New Zealand ranks third as the greatest motor car owing country in the world. It follows then that it is on ; this class that Rotorua is depending ! for a large number of her visitors. 1 These people arrive in their cars, ■ view the sights rapidly and depart i for other places. | "From many points of view, pari ticularly that of the boarding house, j the motor camper is not one to be j encouraged, on the other hand he f represents a definite class and Rotoi ma must cater for him or he will go ■ elsewhere. So far as the catering i aspect is concerned, Rotorua is doing | more, probably, than any other town ! by way of motor camp equipment. Cater for Amusement. "Some compensatiton is given to • the district by the f act that the motor ! camper must perforce spend a cerj tain amount of money amongst the | trades people and on amusement in | the town. If we are to reap the I full benefit of the borough's estab- : lishment of the motor camp, we must cater for the amusement of the ' motorist so that he will stay here for a long period, and thus continue to be somewhat of an asset. Undoubtedly } he is well catered for in the day | time by sight seeing, sports ete. It only remains for us to see that the town provides him with sufficient gaiety at night to make his stay worth while. "Undoubtedly, the completion of the main Blue Bath will do a great deal in this respect. The early suc- ' cess of the juvenile portion has given clcar proof of this, and when the main bath is completed, it will he ! the centre of amusement for many hundreds of visitors. It behoves Rotorua people to see that full adi vantage is taken of this, and that full support is rendered to the Governement to make the bath as attractive and gay as possible. This disposes of one problem that we have to face in catering fox* the visitor, who would otherwise depart after a brief stay. Secure More Visitors. The next problem to he considered is how to secure sufficient visitors, particularly in the off season, to provide sustenance for our many hotels and boarding houses, and thus stimulate business in town. It will be admitted that from a mere sight seeing point of view, this is difficult for the reason already pointed out that the motorist who does not camp, although he may stay at an hotel, is not inclined as a rule, to make a long stay but in considering the assets which we have and of which we can make full use, there is one valuable asset indeed of which to my mind we make all too little use; I refer to the medicinal properties of our mineral maths. Rotorua as a rsult of voluminous and energetic propaganda by people and firms with commercial interests, has come to be regarded almost entirely as a scenic resort, and unfortunately has sunk into the background as a health resort. Curative Benefits. The firms who advertised and pushed their own immediate interests are not to be blamed. On the contrary they should be congratulated on their enterprisc, an enterprise which still could be largely extended. On the other hand a little consideration will

tell us that from the point of view of the Tourist Department, Railway Department and the borough itself great advantages would accrue if the people of New Zealand could be persuaded to make full use of these curative baths which Rotorua provides. "The advantages of this can readily be seen when it is considered that in order to take a cure the person must stay from a week to a month. Generally he would come here on the New Zealand Railways, which would obtain revenue, he would stay at an hotel according to his means, and of course, would provide revenue for the baths. In the event of his being cured, he would go away a permanent advertisement for Rotorua. During the time he would be in Rotorua, it is conceivable that he would spend a certain amount of money on pleasure trips and purchases in the town. Undoubtedly, he is the person, if we can get him here, from whom we will secure the greatest amount of revenue per head for all concerned. Produce for Sale, A question that arises is, how are we to get him. In the first place let us forget that we are individuals or a Government Department as the case may he, and assume that we are a business firm with a product for sale. Our product in this case is really a medicine. In marketing it we should benefit by the methods of others who have sold medicines. I do not suggest that Rotorua should he classed with Baclcache Pills, but I do seriously suggest that we could adopt some of the patent medicine companies' publicity methods. "Last year we ascertained that certain of the Rotorua hotels were prepared to take guests in the off-period for terms at very reasonable rates, I now suggest that this idea could he extended. The Railway Deparment could be approached to provide cheap fares and the Tourist Department approached to provide cheap medieal attention and bath treatment. Thus if we could get sufficient quantities to deal with it would bring profit to all concerned. In order to get these quantities a special scale of charges could be worked out on the most generous possible basis, comprising varying periods of treatment at the baths which would inelude medieal attention and bathing facilities, add to this the cost of hotels, and then add on that rail fare or travelling expenses. "For instance, assuming that a man from Auckland wished to take treatment at Rotorua, put his return train fare at, say £1, £1 per week for medieal treatment and baths and £2/10 per week for accommodation. We could then issue him a ticket to Rotorua, and he would receive everything he required for £4/10. Co-operation Suggested. "With regard to a means of making this known, I would suggest that the matter he taken up by the Tourist Department and Railway Department very strenuously, and I feel sure that both of these Departments, when they realised that the Rotorua authorities are out to co-operate will readily fall into line. "I would then endeavour to raise a sufficient sum, say £1,000, for an advertising campaign through suitable New Zealand newspapers. The advertising committee's funds could he drawn on for say £250. The Railways and Tourist Department could be asked to contribute £250 each from their advertising appropriations. I would not suggest that they would have to provide fresh money for this, but could merely divert some of their present activity, and the interested public in Rotorua, such as hotels, etc., could reasonably be asked to contribute the rest. I do not suggest this as the final basis, but merely as an idea. "With the advertising campaign, I would suggest going about the matter very much in the same way as any patent medicine company goes about marketing its products. For instance large spaces on newspapers to the effect "Why suffer agony from rheumatism when you can he cured at Rotorua." Testimonials, of which I ara sure many most valuable ones could be obtained, could also be published. I am quite convinced that the people of Rotorua and the Tourist Department could benefit tremendously from a vigorous campaign of this description. "We must realise that there are hundreds of people in New Zealand seeking to be cured of complaints, and in Rotorua we ,have the cure they seek. If patent medicines can be sold to these people surely Rotoua Spa could also be sold. If this is prosecuted effectively Rotorua will come into its own as a health resort, and Rotorua boarding houses and business people will benefit tremendously. This scheme may seem ambitious, hut I am firmly of the opinion that it is not so, but merely a common sense way of selling the goods of which this town is the fortunate possessor."