14 May 2020

Media: NZME (Rotorua Daily Post and BOP Times)

Topic: Budget 2020 announcements

Enquiry

The mayor was asked for approx. 100 words sharing her views on today's Budget

Response

From Mayor Steve Chadwick:

Overall it's an important step forward.

I like the focus on jobs, including retraining. We need that as we look to revive and diversify sectors and invest in public infrastructure and housing to provide economic stimulus and keep people in employment.

The wage subsidy extension will help save jobs in the short term, including in our hard-hit sectors. The pressure will increase when the subsidy extension ends so we would support that continuing as required.

The revival and/or re-invention of tourism will have flow-on effects for other sectors, so the success of the tourism package is key for destinations like Rotorua.

Today's announcements are just the beginning in rebuilding tourism so we look forward to more emerging from Government's work with Tourism New Zealand and through the tourism taskforce.

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Media: NZME (Rotorua Daily Post and BOP Times)

Topic: Impact of COVID-19 on events and entertainment sectors

Enquiry

I'm working on a story about COVID-19 and the impact it has had on the events and entertainment sectors and was hoping you could answer a few questions for me as part of it.

Before the lockdown on March 26, how many events did you have booked across your venues this year? And what venues does this include?

What size crowds did those events cater to (eg the smallest and largest expected0 and what types of events were they?

Since COVID, how many of those events have been cancelled?

Since COVID, how many of those events have been postponed?

Since COVID, how many bookings do you now have across venues this year?

How has COVID-19 impacted the events and entertainment industry from your perspective?

Do you think the number of events happening will be minimal for sme time? If so why, and when would you expect things to return to normal?

NOTE: Reporter was informed it could take time, beyond the deadline specified, to gather all the information as it would need to be gathered from various council departments. RLC asked if it was possible to narrow down the request ie was it just external large events at larger/key venues they wanted to know about or everything across all venues which would include the likes of the library and its many events and venues like parks and reserves, markets etc. Reporter indicated they wanted all events across all venues but were happy to focus on larger events and venues to make it easier to meet the deadline.

Response

The following information and comment was provide:

Please note [we were] only able to source information from our Business Events department (the Energy Events Centre) within your deadline. So the stats provided don't relate to community events or sports events held at the stadium or sports facilities around town.

Information re events bookings

• Before the lockdown on March 26, how many events did you have booked across your venues this year? And what venues does this include? 127
• What size crowds did those events cater to (Eg: The smallest and largest expected) and what types of events were they? Various size - smallest is a meeting of 14 people and largest is 10,000 people to an event held over a number of days. There are a number of types:
• Banquets (e.g. conferences)
• Exhibitions (e.g. tattoo expo)
• Major events (e.g. Rotorua Marathon, Ultramarathon)
• Ticketed events (e.g. shows, comedy acts, sport events)
• Sporting (e.g. basketball, netball)
• Public events (e.g. Matariki)
• Since Covid, how many of those events been cancelled? 45
• Since Covid, how many of those events been postponed? 26
• Since Covid, how many bookings do you now have across venues this year? 59 bookings in various stages from enquiries to tentative to potential postponement dates.From Rotorua Lakes Council Group Manager - Operations, Jocelyn Mikaere - "Rotorua is a popular location for events due to our manaakitanga and the stunning environment that we are so well known for. We understand the impact as an organisation with many of our venues closed during Alert Levels and booked events being postponed or cancelled. We know the events industry is among those most affected by COVID-19 and that the impact will extend beyond just the event organisers themselves. Many suppliers, both direct and indirect, are feeling the effect of the COVID-19 response right now.At Council, we are fortunate that our Business Events and Energy Events Centre Manager, Joelene Elliott, serves as the Vice President of Entertainment Venues Association of New Zealand and has been involved in hosting webinars as well as advocating for venues around Alert Level guidelines. This work is focused on finding solutions, and determining how events can successfully adapt in this new environment while COVID-19 is a risk. This is unchartered territory, and guidelines will continue to evolve as our understanding of COVID-19 develops. Currently there is a level of uncertainty around restrictions for events and we hope to see those restrictions safely evolve to allow more events to continue, sooner. In the meantime, we're confident that we can help organisers get back to business, hosting quality events, while also protecting the wellbeing of attendees and our community. Our teams are looking forward to supporting organisers both locally and domestically to get the industry moving again."