The operations include trips on one of the world\u2019s most renowned rafting rivers, the Kaituna, as well as the Rangit\u0101iki River and seasonal runs on the Wairoa River.<\/p>\n
Rotorua Rafting\u2019s Sam Sutton said the number of commercial rafting operators in Rotorua had steadily declined.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty years ago there were seven or eight operators,\u201d he said. \u201cNow there are three.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sutton said running a high-risk adventure activity as a small owner-operator had become increasingly complex.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need a lot more layers underneath you now, particularly around health and safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said rising Department of Conservation concession fees were a key pressure, noting the standard 7.5% charge on gross revenue could represent a significant share of operators\u2019 net profit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a good system in that the money stays in local scenic reserves, but it\u2019s still a big hit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sutton also pointed to weather-related disruption, saying extended river closures in recent years had made standalone operations financially vulnerable.<\/p>\n
Rotorua Rafting owner Sam Sutton. Photo \/ Andrew Warner <\/p>\n
\u201cThis isn\u2019t about putting prices up,\u201d he said. \u201cRafting isn\u2019t a necessity. If it becomes too expensive, people just won\u2019t come, they\u2019ll do something else.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sutton said the scrutiny of the proposal felt disproportionate given the scale of the industry involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re talking about three small rafting companies, while supermarkets, fuel and building prices are what actually put pressure on New Zealanders,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The application was lodged in November, and the commission initially scheduled a decision for late January. That timeline has since been extended.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt present, the information before us does not allow clearance to be granted,\u201d said Vanessa Horne, the commission\u2019s general manager of competition, fair trading and credit.<\/p>\n
As the threshold for clearance has not been met, the commission will publish a Statement of Issues online, inviting submissions from other parties on the proposed merger.<\/p>\n
River Rats takes guests on rafting experiences on the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world – the Tutea Falls, just 20 mins outside of Rotorua on the Kaituna river. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Under the Commerce Act, the merger can only be approved if the regulator is satisfied it is unlikely to substantially lessen competition in any relevant market.<\/p>\n
In a preliminary Statement of Issues document, the commission identified several potential competition concerns requiring further scrutiny. This included the risk of higher prices, reduced service quality, fewer choices for consumers and barriers to new entrants.<\/p>\n
Rafting JV Co maintained the merger is necessary to manage rising Department of Conservation concession fees \u2013 potentially an increase of 500% \u2013 and climate change pressures.<\/p>\n
Efficient use of assets, cost savings, improved river experiences, enhanced safety, stronger adherence to tikanga M\u0101ori, greater financial resilience to climate impacts and the potential establishment of a dedicated rafting guide school were listed as other benefits of the merger.<\/p>\n
The group argued rafting operates within Rotorua\u2019s broader adventure tourism market, alongside activities like ziplining, mountain biking and geothermal attractions, and should not be assessed as a standalone market.<\/p>\n
The would-be consortium has received support from RotoruaNZ, the council-controlled organisation responsible for promoting the district\u2019s tourism sector.<\/p>\n
Rafts entering the first rapids of the Kaituna River in Okere Falls. Photo \/ Nick Reed<\/p>\n
RotoruaNZ chief executive Andrew Wilson said the \u201cproactive and collaborative\u201d merger could help ensure \u201cthe long-term sustainability of the rafting sector\u201d and provide an opportunity to \u201cpreserve and enhance a cornerstone\u201d of Rotorua\u2019s adventure tourism market.<\/p>\n
Tourism Industry Aotearoa\u2019s general manager of membership and advocacy, Greg Thomas, said he did not believe the merger would \u201csubstantially lessen competition\u201d across Rotorua\u2019s wider tourism market.<\/p>\n
\u201cRotorua\u2019s adventure tourism sector remains highly competitive, with numerous alternative activities available to both domestic and international visitors,\u201d Thomas said.<\/p>\n
Richie Pepene, director of operations at tour operator Contiki, also supported the \u201cpositive and pragmatic\u201d proposal.<\/p>\n
Submissions on the proposal will be published on the Commission\u2019s online case register.<\/p>\n
A decision is due by April 14.<\/p>\n
Mathew Nash is a Local Democracy Reporting journalist based at the Rotorua Daily Post. He has previously written for SunLive, been a regular contributor to RNZ and was a football reporter in the UK for eight years.<\/p>\n
– LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The operations include trips on one of the world\u2019s most renowned rafting rivers, the Kaituna, as well as…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":266437,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[9218,138,7520,3088,2371,114714,111,139,69,15290,17159,151792,1327,38715,61,25592],"class_list":["post-266436","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-before","tag-business","tag-commerce","tag-commercial","tag-commission","tag-merge","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-operators","tag-proposal","tag-rafting","tag-rotorua","tag-rotoruas","tag-to","tag-weighs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266436","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266436"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266436\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/266437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266436"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266436"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266436"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}