Ash cloud may have silver lining for Ruapehu profile

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 14, Issue 648, 6 August 1996, Page 3

Ash cloud may have silver lining for Ruapehu profile

"Profile like never before" is how Ruapehu District Council marketing manager Bmce Rollinson is describing the Bounce Back television campaign, aimed to counter the negative effects of the eruption on the region's tourism industry. "The responsibility is clearly upon the Ruapehu and Taupo district councils to make the most of the opportunity and deliver both some short and longer term benefits for the greater region," he said. The two councils' marketing units met last week to sort out the nuts and bolts of the Bounce Back Campaign- Mr Rollinson said it was planned to have the detail of the specific marketing mix completed by last Friday, after which work would begin immediately on the pre-production material. Mr Rollinson said there are two aspects that need to be tied together to ensure a successful campaign and tourist operator involvement. One is the creative and pfeproduction aspects which will be undertaken by appropriate agencies. The other aspect is the co-ordination of consumer response to the campaign. This is where operator involvement will be necessary. "Once we have an action plan finalised, tourist operators will be briefed on how \Ve intend to co-ordinate the consumer response," said Mr Rollinson. The govemment has appointed Neil Plimmer from the Ministry of Commerce, ex-chief executive of the Tourist and Publicity Department, to oversee the govemment' s stakeholding in the project. Ruapehu District Council mayorWeston Kirton said the campaign was an opportunity to demonstrate the broad appeal of the

region. "The campaign will demonstrate the magnificence and the diversity of the local landscape and how diverse the recreational options are," said Mr Kirton. Mr Kirton said the neighbouring Stratford District Council had responded to the campaign, setting up a special display at their information centre aimed at sending visitors to the Ruapehu region. "We will also promote travelling the SH43 Heritage Trail route between Stratford and Taumarunui." "It is quite paradoxical — : out of these rough economic times we see the positive impact of communities working together. As a district we are faced day-to-day with the impact and evidence of nature's destructive side. The situation has also forced us to consider our limited economic base, to work towards diversification of our economic base now and for the future." "As communities we have been lifted to celebrate the diversity of our natural resources and the courage and spirit of our people," he said.