Spokespersons from Tauranga City Council and Tourism Bay of Plenty should not criticise cruise ship operators regarding out-of-date inaccurate information. Both organisations are guilty of failing to ensure that all visitors to Tauranga receive impartial and accurate information and maps.
Poor information given for cruise ship visitors is but a small part of misinformation given to visitors ever since TBOP was formed in 1994. Ratepayers have unwittingly financed this negligence with several million dollars over the years. Tauranga City Council Annual Plan hearings have consistently ignored submissions asking for accurate information and maps. The standard response from Council has been--'Errors are minor, but will be corrected at the time of reprinting”. This seldom happened.
The 'official” map of Tauranga only goes to Gate Pa. Many streets in Greerton, Barkes Corner and The Lakes do not appear although listed in the index.
Maps from the I-Site and the Council's own website showed the train station location long after it was demolished.
A typical example of poor service was when visitors from Tahiti wanting to visit McLaren Falls Park were given a CBD map. They were delighted to be personally escorted to the area.
R Samuel Smith, Otumoetai.