Canterbury’s promotion cost discussed

Press, 30 April 1982, Page 3

Canterbury’s promotion cost discussed

The matter of who should meet the costs of promoting Canterbury was the main consideration at a meeting of the Canterbury Promotion Council on Wednesday evening.

A panel discussion was held by the Deputy Mayor of Christchurch, Mr Rex Lester, the secretary of the Mount Hutt Ski and Alpine Tourist Company, Ltd, Mr Ralph Smith, and the manager of Convention Management Services. Ltd, Mr Jim Mangnall.

Mr Lester said that he was distinctly in favour of pro : moting Canterbury and that promoting the province collectively was the cheapest way. He said that the $44,350 that the Christchurch City Council had been asked for as a grant to the Promotion Council was a small amount compared with the investment of millions of dollars in facilities.

The grants asked for from the local. authorities in Canterbury are calculated on a basis of 27c a head of population. ■ The Kaiapoi Borough Council has offered the Promotion Council a grant of $1320, subject to other councils supporting at the same level.

The Paparua County Council’s finance committee has offered a grant of 20c a head of population, twice the grant it Offered last year.

The Oxford County Council’s contribution has been set at 23c a head, and the Heathcote County Council has offered the full amount of 27c.

Other councils have yet to finalise their contributions.

Mr Lester told the meeting that he favoured payment through local authorities as part of rating, with other parts of the community also paying, as it was in the interests of their business to promote Canterbury.

However, it was items such as expenditure on promotion that stood out as ones that could be “chopped” by councils working out their budgets, Mr Lester said. Mr Smith said that those who stood to benefit direct from promotion should be the ones who paid for it. The public were not very interested in promotion and even if they were, would not be interested in paying. They could be made to pay for the promotion through rates. The promotion of Christchurch as a catalyst for Canterbury, and of the province as a convention centre, were emphasised by Mr Mangnall. People who came to Christchurch for conventions were those who would not otherwise visit the province, he said.