Steve Chadwick, the Mayor of Rotorua, New Zealand, has been invited to address the Global Spa & Wellness Summit (GSWS) 2014 in Morocco in September to promote the city’s potential for natural hot spring developments.

The Summit will provide Chadwick with the opportunity to speak directly to 350 of the world's top spa investors, developers and operators about Rotorua’s aspirations to become the South Pacific’s premier spa destination. She will also be part of an international panel during a conference business session.

The health and wellness sector has been identified as a key driver for developing Rotorua’s tourism economy, along with mountain biking and the district’s unique Maori culture.

“Internationally, the real big growth area is health and wellness in locations where hot springs naturally occur,” said Chadwick. “Rotorua is well-positioned to take advantage of this global trend. But we need to build an international profile and get to the people who can make it happen here.”

“Rotorua used to be a world leader in the spa industry and given our abundance of natural geothermal resources, we want to regain that position,” Chadwick added.

“With substantial Iwi (tribe) ownership of land providing access to geothermal resources, there are real opportunities for Te Arawa (a confederation of tribes) investment and joint ventures that have the potential to create jobs. These types of business often employ up to 200 people across a range of disciplines – everything from therapists and health specialists to managers, geothermal engineers and even gardeners,” said Chadwick.

“I also intend to explore the possibility of Rotorua hosting a future GSWS or international spa tourism conference. That would give some real momentum to our Rotorua 2030 business innovation and prosperity goal around economic sustainability and use of our natural resources.”