Mayor Steve Chadwick addresses the Global Spa and Wellness Summit in Morocco

Mayor promotes Rotorua investment at global spa summit

Rotorua Mayor Steve Chadwick has presented a case for investment in Rotorua to an audience of more than 300 of the world’s top spa and wellness industry operators, developers and investors.

Mrs Chadwick was addressing delegates last week at the prestigious Global Spa and Wellness Summit in Marrakech, Morocco, having been invited to be one of the forum’s key speakers. She has also taken part in panel discussions as part of the forum’s business sessions.

Addressing conference delegates Mrs Chadwick covered Rotorua’s long history as a spa and hot springs destination and aspirations to recapture the title of the South Pacific’s premier spa city. She talked about Rotorua’s hot springs heritage dating back to the earliest Maori residents and about the increasingly important role Maori are playing in the city’s modern economy today.

Mrs Chadwick used her time on stage to promote investment opportunities in Rotorua as a world class health and wellness, spa and hot springs location. She described the city as an established international visitor destination with a unique mix of history, culture, landscape and natural geothermal resource, unmatched anywhere in the world.

Earlier, Global Spa and Wellness Summit president, Susie Ellis of New York, said she had been taken by the Rotorua story and the city’s vision. Ms Ellis said she had never seen such a combination of beautiful landscapes, lakes, natural reserves, indigenous culture and geothermal resources in such an exotic location - all within close proximity.

Mrs Chadwick is hoping to attract some of the summit delegates to Rotorua to look at potential investment, and is also investigating the possibility of bidding for Rotorua to host the Global Spa and Wellness Summit in the future.

She said the international spa and wellness summit was a perfect opportunity to talk one-on-one to potential investors with the aim of getting them interested in Rotorua.

“That would give some real momentum to our Rotorua 2030 business innovation and prosperity goal around economic sustainability and use of our natural resources. Rotorua used to be a world leader in the spa industry and, given our abundance of natural geothermal resources, we want to regain that position.

“With substantial iwi ownership of land providing access to geothermal resources, there are real opportunities for Te Arawa investment and joint ventures that have the potential to create jobs,” she said.

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