November 8 2018

Cash injection for Queenstown’s volunteer fire service

One of the country’s busiest volunteer fire fighting services has received a welcome $8000 cash injection.

Thanks to a month-long fundraising campaign by Queenstown tourism company Ziptrek Ecotours, Queenstown Volunteer Fire Brigade members will be zipping off to Auckland for essential ‘hot fire’ training.

Queenstown’s fire brigade has on average 50 volunteers responding to approximately 400 call-outs per year, and the pressure to respond to serious motor vehicle accidents and special rescues keeps on rising.

Fire Brigade Chief Andrew Bary said he’s thankful to the 320 locals who ‘took to the trees’ over the month of ‘Ziptober’ to help raise the much-needed cash.

“We’re genuinely blown away by the donation and recognition from the community for the work we do,” he said.

“We have one of the biggest volunteer brigades in the country and we see merit in providing additional specialist training to our members, so we can better serve the community.

“The money raised is enough to send eight volunteers to participate in ‘hot fire’ training which teaches practical hands-on experience for dealing with live fire.

“Our brigade will face up to 600-degree temperatures while wearing and operating breathing apparatus to better understand how fires evolve and spread from different materials.”

Ziptrek Ecotours prides itself on supporting its local community, having raised over $73K since opening in 2009. For the first time in nine years, the company extended its popular fundraiser from a local’s day to a whole fundraising month.

Director Trent Yeo said it was humbling to watch Queenstowners get behind its hero firefighters.

“The volunteer service plays a vital role in our community and it’s important to recognise that with growth comes challenges for frontline staff,” he said.

“These volunteers are often first on the scene for car crashes, fires or medical emergencies and it’s important they obtain sufficient funding to keep offering this amazing service.

“We’d be lost without them.”

Throughout October, locals reconnected with their inner child to enjoy $50 trips on Ziptrek’s Kea 6-line, Moa 4-line and Kereru tours, with 50% of proceeds going to the fire service.

For further media information please contact:

Southern PR
Laura Nicol
E: laura@southernpr.co.nz
M: 027 471 7255

Tuesday 6 November 2018

For immediate release

Tourism Strategy change of direction long overdue

The Government’s draft tourism strategy that opened for consultation today is long overdue and a much-needed change in direction from purely increasing visitor numbers to something more suited to managing the high number of visitors we experience today, says the Tourism Export Council New Zealand (TECNZ).

Judy Chen, Chief Executive for TECNZ says, “We welcome today’s announcement and our members have been saying for some time that our tourism policy settings were no longer fit for purpose for the tourism environment we now operate in. Where once it was purely about the number of visitors we could attract to our shores, it’s now about how we manage those numbers sustainably in a way that enhances the visitor experience, protects our landscapes but also spreads the benefits of tourism to more regions and New Zealanders.”

The Government’s tourism strategy was launched in Wellington this morning, with the topline aspiration to; ‘Enrich New Zealand through sustainable tourism growth’. This was underpinned by three goals; Productive Growth, Sustainable Growth and Inclusive Growth. The strategy also set out how the government will work with the tourism sector, iwi, local government, communities and other stakeholders to take advantage of the opportunities associated with both international and domestic visitor growth and to manage the impact of this growth.

“The industry hasn’t been sitting on its hands waiting for the Government to come up with a new strategy and many TECNZ members already actively work in the sustainability, productivity and inclusiveness space as they know they have to protect what makes New Zealand an iconic visitor destination. Done well, this strategy will set out the framework and direction for the next chapter in New Zealand’s tourism story.”

“We know that tourism has grown faster than many communities can cope with and this has put unplanned strain on local infrastructure with the locals often the ones paying for new carparks or public toilets through their rates. The Tourism Infrastructure Fund (TIF) goes some way to addressing these needs and we would not want to see this fund phased out when the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) is introduced mid next year. These considerations all form part of the conversations that need to be had during the Tourism Strategy’s public consultation.

“The IVL will add another $35 per person onto a trip to New Zealand. We are already a relatively expensive country to visit and becoming more so when you consider other factors like increasing petrol prices. Visitors are not immune to these increases when you think about them filling their rental cars or motorhomes, or even through increased tour charges as operators try to recoup some of these costs.”

“If the new Tourism Strategy achieves what it has set out to, we will be heading in the right direction to find the balance between more New Zealanders benefitting from tourism and, the country continuing to provide a unique visitor experience that is well worth the money spent to visit here.”

About the Tourism Export Council of New Zealand:

The Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (TECNZ) is a trade association that represents the interests of the inbound tourism industry. Its membership includes inbound tour operators (Inbound Members) and attraction, activity, accommodation, transport suppliers, regional tourism organisations and tourism services providers (Allied Members). TECNZ members collectively handle most of New Zealand’s international visitor arrivals. www.tourismexportcouncil.org.nz.

For more information please contact:
Judy Chen
CEO – Tourism Export Council of NZ
027 6644 836

A new company dedicated to assisting the NZ tourism industry with its current and future skills and talent shortage is being launch this month. Tourism Talent has been established by Jason Hill (formerly of ATEED and Tourism NZ), and Dylan Rushbrook, (formerly of SKYCITY and Heritage & CityLife Hotels) who have joined forces with Nuwanthie Samarakone, CEO of ICE, a talent development agency with offices in Auckland, Asia and Europe.

The new business will cover a range of services over time and is a talent development and talent connection marketplace specifically for the tourism sector.

The New Zealand tourism industry is facing a critical skills shortage according to Tourism Industry Aotearoa and will need to fill up to 47,000 tourism roles by 2025 to meet the anticipated demand.

Hill saw a gap in the market to create an online platform connecting tourism businesses, to experienced professionals, or up and coming talent who have studied tourism. Samarakone and Rushbrook bought their experiences and networks to the team and the result is a company that will offer executive recruitment, hospitality temping services, an online “gig” marketplace, and an online mentoring platform full of video content for free.

“From the original concept, we have now created a one stop shop for the tourism industry to attract and find future talent” says Hill. “From career pathways, tips and tricks via our ‘digital’ mentors, right up to placing the senior leaders of the tourism industry, there isn’t a part of the talent development process we won’t be covering”

Developing the ‘gig’ connect platform requires investment in development and will not be available from launch. Once ready, the platform will connect New Zealanders with relevant skills and experiences, but who may not have the ability to work full time, into tourism businesses who want part time roles, maternity cover, projects and the like, and start moving to a new way of working and thinking about talent deployment.

Samarakone has built successful and trusted talent development business in key international markets and she doesn’t just put any candidate into a role. Samarakone says “It needs to be the right fit for both parties and clear development plans laid out from the start. You get that by understanding your clients’ needs and finding the best talent that fits that culture. We want to help candidates into roles they will love and help organisations get the best from all their talent.”

Rushbrook, who will drive the business in the early stages as Managing Director, brought the concept of developing a library of ‘digital’ mentors, who share their knowledge, tips and experience for anyone wanting to know more about a career in the tourism industry. He says “we know the education system is failing the country’s largest export earner by not understanding what a tourism career can be. We are determined to work with the sector and education providers to raise awareness of what incredible careers await those willing to put in some hard work.”

“Early feedback and conceptual support for Tourism Talent from tertiary providers and industry leaders so far has been very encouraging” says Rushbrook.

Tourism Talent will be officially launched in November 2018.

ENDS
For more information please contact;
Dylan Rushbrook
0212850625
dylan@synergytourism.co.nz

Bios

Dylan Rushbrook, Managing Director of Tourism Talent, Director of Synergy Tourism Consulting
Over 20 year’s experience in tourism and hospitality operations, including senior roles with Scenic Hotel Group, SKYCITY Entertainment Group and Heritage and CityLife Hotels. A founding board member of the Young Tourism Export Council of New Zealand and chair for two years during which time he pushed for tourism to be recognized as a professional career. Dylan is currently a board member of Tourism Export Council of New Zealand.

Jason Hill, Director Tourism Talent, Managing Partner at Tourism Investment Partners, Managing Director Meneth Consulting Over 25 year’s experience in the New Zealand and Japanese tourism industry across marketing, management and governance in the private and public sectors, including senior roles at Auckland Tourism, Events, and Economic Development, Tourism New Zealand, and Christchurch Tourism. Fluent in Japanese and extensive travel and work experience across Asia. Jason also sits on multiple advisory boards assisting organisations achieve quality governance.
Nuwanthie Samarakone, Director of Tourism Talent, CEO of ICE
Over 10 year’s experience in recruitment and talent development. Nuwanthie’s company ICE operates offices in New Zealand, United Kingdom, Singapore and Sri Lanka. The focus is on early talent identification and development, matching the right talent with the right role. Nuwanthie sits on multiple advisory boards assisting government, tertiary education providers and commercial businesses understand how to work with the changing workforce.

ANZCRO is part of the expanding Guthrey Tourism Group and has been in business for over 20 years. ANZCRO specialises in creating custom itineraries for FIT and group travel to New Zealand.

We offer comprehensive range of NZ products including transport, accommodation, sightseeing, driver guides and Skiing backed up with on the ground support.

With our experienced, multi lingual knowledgeable team using OZONE our in-house reservation system, we can design the best itinerary to suit your clients needs and budget. Whether its a student group or Honeymooners staying at the finest Lodges we have all the elements to make their New Zealand trip a memorable one.

The Young Tourism Export Council (YoungTEC) and The Icehouse are excited to be working together towards a shared goal of developing the leadership skills, capability and confidence of young people within the tourism industry.

This collaboration will see YoungTEC members offered the opportunity to participate in an intensive full day Leadership course in Auckland this December. The practical course offers future tourism leaders the chance to develop their personal effectiveness and ensure they lead for high performance.

Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (TECNZ) Chief Executive Judy Chen says, “The tourism industry offers incredibly rewarding career opportunities and one of YoungTEC’s key role is to help further develop the young talent we have in this sector”.

“We are thrilled to work with The Icehouse to deliver this programme especially with their proven reputation for developing successful businesses and an excellent understanding of our industry, having partnered with many of our TECNZ members”.

The Icehouse CEO Andy Hamilton says “The tourism sector is doing great things for New Zealand. The growth we are experiencing now is because of the hard work in the past. We also need to reinvest in the capability of our people to keep growing and advancing. That is why we are excited to partner with the Tourism Export Council to help building capability and aspiration in the future leaders in our tourism sector”.

“For the past five years YoungTEC have been delivering the award winning Professional Development Programme, a tourism 101 for those new to the industry, and are excited to now be able to offer our members a step above” says YoungTEC’s Chair, Nicole Botting.

“The creation of the Leadership Day has been a year in the making for our Executive. Thanks to the funding the Hospitality Training Trust awarded YoungTEC earlier this year, we have been able to partner with an incredibly successful company and offer our members a high calibre Leadership Day”.

The Leadership Day will be held at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, on Monday 3 December 2018.

ENDS.

 About YoungTEC

YoungTEC is an organisation of young tourism professionals under the age of 36 years who are members of Tourism Export Council companies. A YoungTEC membership offers regular networking events with other young professionals in the tourism industry, educational workshops and a professional development programme complete with a mentor which gives you the most up-to-date tourism information and tips to take into your own workplace.

For more information on YoungTEC and to find out how to become a member visit www.tourismexportcouncil.org.nz/ytec or go to their Facebook page www.facebook.com/youngtourismexportcouncil.

About The Icehouse

Founded in 2001, The Icehouse is committed to creating a high performing New Zealand economy where ideas and businesses thrive.  We believe in the extraordinary potential of New Zealand business owners and entrepreneurs. We enable their success through knowledge, connection and investment.

The Icehouse has worked with over 5,000 owner-managers and entrepreneurs. On average our established businesses grow revenue by 12% every year, meaning they grow 2.5x faster than the average NZ business. Our start-ups have collectively created over 900 jobs, raised more than $117m in funding and have generated over $325m in revenue.

www.theicehouse.co.nz

For more information please contact:

Nicole Botting – YoungTEC Chair

027 418 8943

nicole.botting@christchurchnz.com

The Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (TECNZ) has welcomed the government’s announcement of the R&D Tax Incentive for businesses, saying it opens doors for more innovation in the tourism sector.

Judy Chen, Chief Executive for TECNZ said, “Just like any industry, tourism is constantly having to adapt to change and often it is technological advances that require investment in research and development which has been unattainable to many in our industry.”

“The new tax incentive will give tourism businesses more confidence to take the plunge and commit to R&D. Previous funding application processes and criteria were not a natural fit for these sorts of businesses and, as a result, tourism often missed out on these funding opportunities.”

The key features of the R&D Tax Incentive include a credit rate of 15%, a $120 million cap on eligible expenditure and a minimum R&D expenditure threshold of $50,000 per year.  The definition of R&D also ensures the credit can be accessed more easily across all sectors.

“TECNZ has been focusing on the importance of future proofing our industry through the use of new technology.   At the TECNZ tourism conference in August we discussed how valuable artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are to our industry.

Investing in better data capture, analytics, and modeling tools are another example of how the industry can better understand visitor behaviour and therefore plan for future trends.   These sorts of technologies all take money to research and develop properly and the new tax incentive may now make that sort of investment viable.”

“Innovation is already alive and well in the sector when you consider some of the iconic kiwi inventions that have put New Zealand tourism on the map like, the Hamilton Jet, bungy, and zorb.  With these new tax incentives in place hopefully we will see more of this home-grown ingenuity in the future.”

“TECNZ is already engaging with Callaghan Innovation and MBIE Science and Innovation to highlight and communicate these opportunities and we invite other research institutes to look at tourism as a sector for new R&D funding opportunities.”

ENDS

 About the Tourism Export Council of New Zealand

The Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (TECNZ) is a trade association that represents the interests of the inbound tourism industry. Its membership includes inbound tour operators (Inbound Members) and attraction, activity, accommodation, transport suppliers, regional tourism organisations and tourism services providers (Allied Members). TECNZ members collectively handle most of New Zealand’s international visitor arrivals. www.tourismexportcouncil.org.nz.

For more information please contact:

Auckland’s newest waterfront neighbourhood, Wynyard Quarter, will soon be home to a new Travelodge Hotel, managed by TFE Hotels, on the corner of Pakenham Street West and Halsey Street in mid-2020.

The hotel will add a much-needed mid-tier accommodation offering to the precinct, which attracts thousands of workers and visitors each week. A number of multi-national companies have head offices there including Air New Zealand, Microsoft, Datacom, IBM and Fonterra, New Zealand’s largest company.

Wynyard Quarter was first redeveloped seven years ago and has a host of new upmarket retail, residential and commercial developments in its pipeline, ahead of the America’s Cup in 2021. It is home to the chic bars and restaurants of North Wharf, as well as Silo Park, ANZ Viaduct Events Centre and the Auckland Theatre Company.  It is estimated that up to 5000 residents and 25,000 workers will be based there in the next decade.

TFE Hotels has partnered with energy, transport and infrastructure investor Infratil, who will develop the striking new Travelodge Hotel as part of a development of six new buildings. Construction is about to begin on the 6 storey L-shaped hotel, which will have 154 guest rooms and a ground floor restaurant. The design by Peddle Thorp Aitken architects includes 1800 square metre ground floor retail area and an adjoining multi-level car park.

This will be the nineteenth Travelodge Hotel in Australia and New Zealand and will expand on the brand’s Refreshingly Simple promise. It will align with the brand promise to deliver “more of what you want and less of what you don’t”. It will be TFE Hotels’ second Travelodge Hotel in New Zealand, in addition to Wellington. TFE Hotels has 72 hotels in its portfolio worldwide.

The new International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy provides much needed additional tourism funding but it must not be a replacement for funding that is already available to the sector, says the Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (TECNZ).

Judy Chen, Executive Officer for TECNZ says, “This new levy needs to be additional to the funding that already exists through initiatives like the Tourism Infrastructure Fund and the Provincial Growth Fund.  All serve a slightly different purpose and are helping to deal with the cost pressures associated with tourism growth. Nor should the money raised from the levy go towards business as usual activities, instead it should be used for new tourism and conservation projects and initiatives.”

The new levy will be set at $35 per visitor and will be in place ahead of the 2019/20 peak tourist season.   It will raise an estimated $80 million in 2020, to be split between tourism infrastructure and conservation work.

Ms Chen has been invited to take part in a stakeholder session organised by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and the Department of Conservation to look at how the money collected from the levy will be spent and how it will be governed.

“What’s important is that we take a cautious approach to where the money goes.  $80 million seems like a large sum of money but split across tourism and conservation needs it is unlikely to go far if it’s not managed and allocated carefully.  The introduction of this levy is an opportunity to create an enduring fund, that is big enough to be useful and able to fund the needs of tourism well into the future.”

Ends

About the Tourism Export Council of New Zealand:

The Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (TECNZ) is a trade association that represents the interests of the inbound tourism industry. Its membership includes inbound tour operators (Inbound Members) and attraction, activity, accommodation, transport suppliers, regional tourism organisations and tourism services providers (Allied Members). TECNZ members collectively handle most of New Zealand’s international visitor arrivals. www.tourismexportcouncil.org.nz.

For more information please contact:

Tourism Export Council Xmas Symposium and YoungTEC Summit Open for Registrations

The Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (TECNZ) is delighted to announce that this year the renowned Xmas Symposium and YoungTEC Summit will take place at the Pullman Auckland Hotel. The YoungTEC event is on Tuesday 4 December starting at 1pm and the TECNZ Symposium follows the next afternoon, Wednesday 5 December from 2pm.

TECNZ CEO Judy Chen says these two events are offered to TECNZ and YoungTEC members annually to provide an enlightening programme with speakers from both within and outside the industry and the final opportunity to come together for networking before end of the year.

The 2018 Xmas Symposium event will focus on the core theme of contributing toward a better world; inspiring the industry to make positive changes that will contribute to improved social wellbeing, workforce equality and empowerment, and environmental sustainability all whilst increasing economic performance.

The YoungTEC Summit, the organisation’s main networking event of the year, will be delving into ‘controversial disruptors’ and how they impact a business both positively and negatively. The combination of both guest speakers and a panel session makes this event one not to be missed.

Registrations for both events close at 5pm on Friday 23 November.  For more information please visit www.tourismexportcouncil.org.nz.

ENDS

About the Tourism Export Council of New Zealand

The Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (TECNZ) is a trade association that represents the interests of the inbound tourism industry. Its membership includes inbound tour operators (Inbound Members) and attraction, activity, accommodation, transport suppliers, regional tourism organisations and tourism services providers (Allied Members). TECNZ members collectively handle most of New Zealand’s international visitor arrivals. www.tourismexportcouncil.org.nz.

For more information please contact: