The Mount's i-Site was shut down in 2011/2012, despite howls of public protest, and re-sited onto the Passenger Wharf with a ‘defacto' I-Site information bureau at Mount Domain office – an invisible, useless location for visitors and offering nothing.

Council then leased old i-Site premises, ignoring submissions requesting that it remain available for the inevitable reinstatement of a Mount i-Site.

The upshot is Tourism Bay of Plenty now wish to reinstate a new i-Site in the Tauranga Port area at a cost which must of course service not only the cruise ship visitors – say 20 per cent – but also the wider motoring and travelling NZ public/tourists, at say 80 per cent.

It is suggested the existing Port i-Site be relocated to near the Rata St gate to service cruise ship passengers, remaining much the same as now but smartened up and upgraded slightly. The minimal cost must be met by the Tauranga Port, cruiselines, tour bus operators, Tourism BOP etc. While all the motoring/travelling public both Kiwis and tourists could be assisted at the Mount Mainstreet offices. This two-facility option makes practical and financial sense.

But please don't spend ‘one' dollar of Tauranga City Council ratepayer money on this latest aberration – just wait for the old i-Site lease to expire and return it to its old spot. Alternatively, stick with Mount Mainstreet, which promoted a feasible proposal to incorporate an i-Site – easily achievable at no significant cost to TCC ratepayers without splurging on new buildings.

R Paterson, Matapihi.