Motu Trails moves into promotion mode
Media Release
Release date: Wednesday, 15 September 2010
Motu Trails moves into promotion mode
A community-based charitable trust is to be established to promote and market the $2.12 million Motu Trails cycleway and the business opportunities it will create.
While the construction phase of the project - funded to $1.74 million under the Government’s Nga Haerenga New Zealand Cycle Trail initiative and $380,000 by the Department of Conservation - is expected to take 12 months, the task of promoting the new visitor attraction for the Eastern Bay of Plenty-Gisborne region is being seen as a priority also.
The establishment of a charitable trust to
undertake the promotion and marketing and to work with
potential accommodation, transport and tourism services
operators, has been unanimously backed by the Motu Trails
Governance Group
This represents the four partner
agencies in the Motu Trails project - Opotiki District
Council, Gisborne District Council, the Department of
Conservation and Whakatohea Maori Trust Board.
The support
for a trust came at the Governance Group’s inaugural
meeting in Opotiki last week. It reflects the operation of a
number of other effective cycle trails, such as the Otago
Rail Trail and the Waikato River Trail.
Gisborne
District Council’s representative on the governance group
is Hans van Kregten, the Council's Environment and Planning
Manager. He said that charitable trusts were being
established for most of the 18 new cycle trails approved
under the $50 million New Zealand Cycle Trail initiative.
“This structure for operating and promoting cycle trails
is favoured because of the need to attract significant
funding to promote these public facilities to cycle tourists
from throughout New Zealand and around the world.
It recognises that the two councils involved do not have budgets to undertake these tasks. Hans van Kregten said that whilst most of the Motu Trails are within Opotiki there will be opportunities for Gisborne to leverage off the project and bring people into our district. Representation from Gisborne on the new trust is therefore paramount.
It is expected that Trustees will come from the Opotiki and Gisborne communities, with iwi and the cycling fraternity also being represented. Similar Trusts around New Zealand have also co-opted representatives of corporate entities and other organisations able to assist in providing funding as the Government’s contribution is dedicated to construction of the physical facilities. It is hoped the new Trust will be up and running within the next few months.
Meanwhile,
project manager Mike Houghton from the Opotiki District
Council says that the message that has come through loud and
clear is that there is no point having a cycle trail in our
region without attracting people to use it.
“There
will be significant business opportunities and job creation
benefits from having the Motu Trails, but we need visitors
to come here and there must be an appropriate organisation
in place to undertake the work required to encourage them to
do so.”
The Opotiki Community Development Trust has
offered to assist in the establishment of a Motu Trails
Charitable Trust and has begun seeking potential Trustees
with proven business skills, enthusiasm and passion for the
Eastern Bay of Plenty-Gisborne region, time to dedicate to
the voluntary role and a willingness to work as a team to
realise the full potential of what is being seen as one of
the biggest economic development initiatives ever seen here.
It is expected that Trustees will come from the Opotiki
and Gisborne communities, with iwi and the cycling
fraternity also being represented.
Similar Trusts around New Zealand have also co-opted representatives of corporate entities and other organisations able to assist in providing funding as the Government’s contribution is dedicated to construction of the physical facilities. It is hoped the new Trust will be up and running within the next few months.
ENDS.