The head of a Te Puke business group believes the township should become part of the iconic tourist route known as The Goodness Highway.

Graeme Crossman, Kiwi 360 tourism park operator and Mark Boyle, Managing director of the Te Puke Economic Development Group believe the 'Goodness Highway” could help rejuvenate the region.

Te Puke Economic Development Group managing director Mark Boyle says Katikati should join Waihi, Waihi Beach and Te Puke to become part of the highway attracting tourists through the region.

He floated the concept at a meeting called by Katch Katikati this week suggesting a combined marketing approach by the communities could convince tourists, particularly those in camper vans and rental cars, to travel from Auckland to Rotorua through Te Puke.

The name is an off-shot of new branding - 'Te Puke – goodness grows here” which Mark says builds on the region's unique soils and climate, attributes shared by Katikati.

Kiwi 360 tourism park operator Graeme Crossman endorsed the concept saying rental cars and vans fitted with Tourism Radio GPS ‘guides' can direct visitors to attractions along their route. The highway from Waihi to Te Puke and even further south to Whakanate is rich in the kind of attractions tourists are looking for, he said.

It was no longer enough to promote the Bay of Plenty as the Mount Maunganui beach because white sandy beaches could be found anywhere in the world. Tourists want something unique and the future for New Zealand tourism lies in Asia not Europe.

'Asian tourists don't want to lie on beaches, they want something which is unique, to meet people and see things they can touch and feel. They are interested in healthy foods and in this region we grow super foods.”

Jacqui Knight of Katch Katikati told the 30 community leaders who attended the meeting that Katikati already had the kind of attractions Mark and Graeme were talking about, including the Katikati Cuisine Trail made up of 12 artisan food producers whose products are based around the region's fertile land and pristine waters.

Earlier Mark outlined how the Te Puke Economic Development Group grew from concerns about the kiwifruit disease Psa-V, which now infects almost every orchard in the district, impacting incomes of growers, contractors, the post-harvest sector and the wider community.

The group's mission is to ‘facilitate the engagement of all economic sectors in our district and to grow economic value. Our vision is a growing and vibrant district with superior economic and social performance. Te Puke EDG helps business improve and grow, promotes our district as a premier location to invest, work and play and endeavours to attract new investment, industry and jobs'.

Te Puke EDG is an independent organisation funded by members, including Zespri and Comvita, other local businesses and individuals and has become a strategic partner of the Western Bay of Plenty District Council.

Mark said the template Te Puke EDG has developed could also be adopted by Katikati, and both he and Graeme offered advice in helping the community set up a similar organisation, if that was its wish.

The kiwifruit vine disease now infects 243 of Katikati's 473 orchards and for the first time in many years there are vacant shops in the town's main street. It was a crisis in the kiwifruit and dairy industry in the early 1990s which gave rise to the town's highly successful mural project. Perhaps now is the time for another initiative to rejuvenate the community.