In November last year I was awarded a prize in by the NZ Tourism Industry - PATA Young Tourism Entrepreneur Award. It was a culmination of 11 years hard work, risk and sacrifice. I was extremely proud to be recognised by one of the industries I have found myself working in. I found out about the nomination while in San Francisco for the America's Cup and decided to fly home the next week for the TIA annual dinner. It is not often you get nominated for an award so it would be a shame not to be there. Win or not it would be a great chance to connect with the industry, while also seeing family and friends after being overseas on the road for 8 months.
I had applied for the same award in 2010 and after making the final three I was disappointed not to have won. The award went to Haka Tours founder Ryan Sanders who was a commendable tourism entrepreneur in the true sense, having set up tours into the Southern Alps for overseas visitors. Rhythm and Vines did however win the Best Festival Award which was a great recognition for the hard work put in by the team. After being awarded our prize by Prime Minister John Key a fantastic night ensued!
This year I was a finalist against a guy who had started the Rotorua Canopy Tours business in Rotorua. What tipped the scales in my favour was the fact we had diversified our product since my last nomination to create the new Rhythm and Alps festival. My team and I have been working on this for the past 4 years and I felt proud that our vision had been accomplished. It also showed that we were not one-trick ponies, having replicated our success and diversified our brand into a new territory. After receiving my award I was able to say a few words thanking those who have played a part in our success and also talk a bit more about the vision of our company to become NZ's leading festival and event promotions company.
My prize was an open door with the leaders of the NZ Tourism Industry - to learn, be inspired and connect with current players and decisions makers. I was invited along to one of the Tourism NZ workshops in November. With over $130 million being spent the department was staffing up to cater for the next round of growth, with new staff appearing in offices such as Mumbai, Shanghai and Sao Paulo. Having PM John Key at the helm NZ Tourism has seen a considerable lift in profile with campaigns generated off the Lord of the Rings and America's Cup success promoting our ideas, talents and natural beauty. And with this exposure comes added scrutiny and accountability for the department so new staff were given a thorough introduction process to help prepare them for the path ahead.
During the two day summit we talked about brand NZ and how it is portrayed to the world. How the marketing spend is targeted towards those who need pushing over the edge to commit, not wasted on those who still need convincing about NZ as a holiday destination. We learnt about the substantial investment into attracting a famous Chinese pop star to have her wedding in Queenstown. Tourism NZ funded the whole wedding and the returns amongst chinese visitors and on social media was phenomenal. I also found it insightful to learn about the transparency required in being a government department. Every email and text message has the potential to be scrutinized, every decision signed off by the powers that be and every dollar needs to be accounted for. Definitely a different environment from being in a private enterprise.
For the second part of my prize I was flown to Wellington last week for the day for meetings with the real movers and shakers. First up a morning and lunch with Martin Sneddon - ex Rugby World Cup Boss and now CEO of the Tourism Industry Association, and also a meet and greet with new Associate Tourism Minister Todd McClay.
Given my meeting coincided with Brendan McCullum's famous 300 run chase against the Indians, I mentioned to Martin that we could enjoy the meeting on the terraces at the Basin Reserve. He was the Chairman of NZ Cricket after all. But Martin had a day job to do as head of the Tourism Industry Association so cricket was off the agenda. He is a consumate professional. So we chewed the fat for a number of hours in the TIA offices as planned. I enjoyed hearing about his major event experience running the Rugby World Cup - arguably NZ's biggest ever event. We discussed the importance of risk management and also the co-ordination and cohesion involved with planning and delivering large high profile events.
We then discussed the Tourism 2025 document which had been constructed to provide alignment and focus for the industry. What Martin had noticed since taking the role was the size and scope of the industry, and the lack of visibility of all of its working parts. Given the diversity of the operators there was a lack of common threads linking them all. From travel operators, hospitality, adventure sports to festivals it his remit covered a large pool of members. So the strategy by the Tourism Industry Association was around 'alignment rather than agreement' of shared goals, which obviously differ between operators. This vision would allow flexibility within the industry and accommodate differing wants and needs by the operators they collectively represent.
We discussed NZ as a destination and the opportunities that lie for entrepreneurs like myself. Although traditionally reliant on key allies like UK, Europe and Australia, the real visitor growth lies in the Pacific Rim - China, Japan, South East Asia. This region even includes the likes of Mexico and Latin America. Air NZ plays a big part of this discussion having recently partnered up with Singapore airlines to provide a hub in South East Asia giving greater access to these millions of potential visitors. There are also discussions with Latin American airlines for Auckland to be a key stopover in this part of the world, opening up markets like Brazil and Argentina.
We had a more social lunch down at Cafe Prava off Lambton Key and Martin told me a few war stories about his career and plans for the future. I loved hearing about the Rugby World Cup and the drama surrounding it. I look forward to NZ holding another sizeable event in future and hope I can play some part in it.
Next it was on to Bowen House to meet the Associate Tourism Minister. After clearing security was greeted by the charming and well dressed Minister Mclay in his corner office high up over looking Wellington. Two ministerial assistants about my age took notes as we conversed. I was able to update him on our journey with Rhythm and Vines and the news Alps concetp now in Wanaka. Coming from Rotorua, Todd was well versed on the Gisborne /East Coast region and some of the key personalities. He asked me how we could get more young entrepreneurs into the Tourism sector. I suggested having better access and transparency to the stories of NZ success stories like AJ Hackett bungy or Craig Heatly who founded Rainbow's End. Either through seminars at University or as part of a bigger youth conference. The more knowledge of inspiring start-up stories within our industry the better.
Finally the day ended up a couple of cleansing lagers with the team that put together in tourism operators conference TRENZ. This business-to-business tradeshow generates a large percentage of NZ tourism as the likes of airlines, tourism operators and media all congregate 4 days every autumn at a different location around NZ. Hamish and his team of 3 do a stirling job pulling together what in itself is a mini-festival, so we were able to compare similar stories on the highs and lows of event management.
Overall I'm honored to have won the PATA Young Tourism Entreprenuer award and excited about my place in this diverse and growing industry. NZ needs fresh ideas as it secures its place as a visitor attraction within the Pacific Rim. It needs to pitch for and develop major sporting and cultural events. It needs the cohesion and alignment of operators, along with catering to differing cultures needs and wants. The opportunities to host the potential audience are vast and I look forward to being part of seizing these going forward.
