Newspaper Article 1985 – Rural tourism needs rural people

Rural tourism needs rural people

First, a few facts about tourism:
*   80%. of visitors to New Zealand travel around independently.
*   The devaluation of the NZ dollar makes it an attractive destination for overseas visitors.
*   More than 200,000 extra visitors are predicted for this year alone.
*   Culturally, NZ is non-threatening to Northern Hemisphere visitors. (English is spoken and the food isn’t too different.)
*   Many people want to come to NZ to experience or do something different.
*   A large part of the tourist industry is made up of domestic tourists, i.e. Mr and Mrs Average Kiwi and their kids.
*   Both domestic and international tourists are looking for clean air, clean water and wide open spaces.
*   Both domestic and international tourists would like the chance to be in a rural setting.

SO WHAT IS HAWKE’S BAY DOING TO PROMOTE ITSELF TO GET VISITORS HERE?

Well, the Regional Development Council has already indentified [identified] tourism as a good resource for H.B. and has formed the Hawke’s Bay Tourism Board Inc to aid “The development of the Hawke’s Bay region as a major tourist destination”, and appointed Olga Jones (late of Bay Tours, a specialist independent tour company and HB enthusiast) as its executive secretary.

Secondly, and encouragingly, rural people themselves are starting to get together to see what they can do in offering and promoting a rural angle to the HB tourist scene, to make sure that tourism in this area includes not only Marineland/Marine Parade aspect, but also a chance to see mustering in Otamauri, Otane or Omakere, or whatever, wherever.

A few weeks ago Dudley and Nesta Payne of Meadowood, Korokipo Road, Fernhill, called a meeting to get together people who were interested in rural tourism. They already take Farmstay visitors (David Napier’s Rotorua-based company) but are interested in getting more involved. Dudley says that one of the reasons he held the meeting was to get other Farmstay hosts to meet each other, (“We only ever see one another briefly collecting or delivering our guests,”) and to see what groundswell of support there was to promote H.B. as a place to come and stay in the rural situation.

Years ago, Nesta and Dudley were farming, but came to HB and bought the Marewa Lodge Motel, the first private motel in Napier. They were there for 10 years. They have now returned to the country. It was an incident last year that really got them thinking.

“We having dinner at Cobb and Co, one Saturday night and near us were two elderly gentlemen. Out in the lounge we struck up a conversation with them. One was a builder from England and the other, his friend from Australia, and they were travelling around New Zealand visiting relatives.

They arrived in Napier by train, and asked me what could they do in Napier at the weekend. I told them to ask at the reception desk and no promises, but we’d give them a call in the morning to see if they’s [they’d] been fixed up.

The next day, which was glorious, I rang them and offered to take them on a bit of tour around. I took them round, showed them some of the views and we came back to the house. Nesta had made some scones and we sat in the sun for a couple of hours and then I took them back to Napier.

Later, we had a postcard from them saying that it was the highlight of their trip and that got me thinking.
You don’t really know who the visitors are to HB unless you hear an accent and we really should start looking at doing something. ”

Nesta said that with her Farmstay guests, she always offered them a real lemon drink first and they always thought that was marvellous. “It’s the simple things that count, things we take for granted here, like climate and countryside. It’s also the chance to stay with people of the country in the country.”

Photo caption – Dudley and Nesta Payne. “All we really have to offer is our home and our hospitality.” Dudley wants to get rural people together to promote the rural aspect of tourism. “At this stage I really have no idea of what might happen, I just wonder who else is interested and what ideas they have.”