The Tourism Chat Show

It's the penultimate episode of our NZ Tourism Awards special series!  This week we interview three more finalists from this year's awards as we count down to the big 'virtual' awards on 29th November. 

In this episode we start with Freeman Ehu, Marketing Manager at Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari - finalists in two categories, but this week we focus on their Community Engagement Award. 

Paul Norris from RealNZ, who is believed to be NZ Tourism's only Chief Conservation Officer joins us next to talk about what their business is doing in southern NZ to be named finalists in the DOC Conservation Award. 

Finally, we chat with Kerry Wicks, owner at the Miranda Holiday Park.  They are finalists in the Tourism Talent Employer of Choice Awards and it's super clear how much aroha there is for their team during this chat. 

We announce the winner of the Mountain Bike Rotorua competition from last episode and this week we offer up a Doubtful Sound Wilderness Cruise for TWO valued at $400. 

Don't forget, there is only one more week to enter the Dart River Funyak Adventure too - go to www.destinatenz.com/competitions to enter that one. 

Timings: 

8.34 - Freeman Ehu, Sanctuary Mountain Maungatautari (https://www.sanctuarymountain.co.nz/home)

23.04 - Paul Norris, RealNZ (https://www.realnz.com/en/)

40.13 - Kerry Wicks, Miranda Holiday Park (https://mirandaholidaypark.co.nz/) 

www.destinatenz.com 

#nztourismawards #Conservation #Leadership #CommunityEngagement #TourismMarketing #NZTourism #TourismNZ #newzealand #competition 

Part 9 already!   Three more incredible finalists this episode.  We're joined by NZME Visitor Experience Award Finalist, Bruce Thomasen from Redwoods Treewalk in Rotorua.  He even gives us an exclusive scoop on their new summer attraction opening soon! 

Then we welcome our final Marsh Tourism Industry Champion finalist, Bridget Legnavsky from Real NZ (formerly Wayfare).  Bridget's passion for developing people and excellence is real and if you've seen her videos from Cardrona, you'll already know this.  

And finally we welcome back a familiar voice to the show - Tak Mutu from MDA Group in Rotorua who are also finalists in the He Kai Kei Aku Ringa Maori Tourism Award.  We interviewed Tak in the last episode for their Community Engagement Award. 

There is no shortage of talent in the NZ Tourism Industry and we're very proud to be able to bring a snippet of this to you every week. 

We announce our competition winners from last episode and this week there is a competition to win 2 x full suspension full day bike hire with MDA Group in Rotorua so head to our instagram page to enter. 

Timings: 

7.41 - Bruce Thomasen, Redwoods Treewalk (https://www.treewalk.co.nz/)

23.46 - Bridget Legnavsky, Real NZ (https://www.realnz.com/en/)

41.57 - Tak Mutu, MDA Group ( https://www.mtbrotorua.co.nz/ & https://www.mdanz.com/) 

www.destinatenz.com #tourismmarketing #NZTourismAwards #Leadership #Marketing #MaoriTourism #VisitorExperience #CustomerExperience #Excellence #SmallBusiness #NZTourism #TourismNZ 

In Part 8 of our NZ Tourism Awards special we welcome three more awesome finalists. 

Tak Mutu representing MDA Group from Rotorua who are finalists in the Community Engagement Award. 

Amy Hughes from Wellington Zoo who are finalists in the Environment Award

Nineke Metz and Owen Taituha from Waitangi Treaty Grounds who are finalists in the Maori Tourism Award. 

We announce the winner of the iFly competition last week and remind you to enter our Dart River Funyak Adventure Competition www.destinatenz.com/competitions

We are also giving away a family pass to visit the Waitangi Treaty Grounds AND Wellington Zoo.  Head to www.destinatenz.com/competitions for details. 

Timings: 

MDA Group: 7.23 (https://www.mdanz.com/about)

Wellington Zoo: 23.58 (https://wellingtonzoo.com/)

Waitangi Treaty Grounds: 42.25 (https://www.waitangi.org.nz/) 

Thanks for listening in. Tell your friends, share with your colleagues! 

www.destinatenz.com 

#tourismmarketing #NZTourismAwards #NZTourism #TourismNZ #collaboration #leadership #GirlBoss 

We kick off this week by announcing the winner of the two night stay at Russell Orongo Holiday Park and then welcome three more inspirational tourism leaders for a chat about their NZ Tourism Awards Finalist entries. 

First up is Claire Waghorn from Christchurch Airport.  Claire is the Sustainable Transition Leader there.  Christchurch Airport are finalists in the Toitu Envirocare Environment Award, and huge props must go to their entire team for the work they have been doing for well over a decade to champion our environment and make a real difference.  Not easy for an airport! 

Then we welcome Matt Wong, Managing Director at iFly Queenstown.  They are finalists in the Tourism Talent Employer of Choice Award so we tackle how they managed to keep their team engaged through lockdown and come out the other side stronger than ever.  

And finally we chat with Visitor Destination Manager at Nelson Regional Development Agency, Tracee Neilson about their Tourism New Zealand Industry Collaboration entry.  They're also doing some great work carbon off-setting their visitor economy and it seems like the entire region has got in behind the project.  It's great to hear and see our industry 'walking the talk' and making a real impact. 

There's another competition - this week an iFly Kickstart pack for two people valued at $198. 

Timings: 

9.17 - Claire Waghorn, CHC Airport (https://www.christchurchairport.co.nz/)

30.46 - Matt Wong, iFly Queenstown (https://www.iflynz.co.nz/)

51.08 - Tracee Neilson, Nelson Regional Development Agency (https://www.nelsontasman.nz/)

Enjoy the show. Vote for us in the NZ podcast awards (www.nzpodcastawards.com) 

www.destinatenz.com 

#NZTourismAwards #TourismMarketing #Environment #Climate #Collaboration #EmployerofChoice 

We start by announcing the winners of our Dive! Tutukaka competition last week and announcing this weeks' competition to win a 2 night stay at the Russell Orongo Bay Holiday Park valued at up to $360.  You must listen to find out how to enter! 

First up we welcome Ceillhe Sperath from Time Unlimited Tours who is a finalist in the Tourism Industry Champion Category. Full name Ceillhe Tewhare Teneti Hema Sperath - is a New Zealander of Maori descent from the largest Ngapuhi tribe in Northland with the added bonus of her Irish heritage on her paternal side that affords her the gift of the gab. Ceillhe is a direct descendant of Patuone ("The Peacemaker") and Tamati Waka Nene, two of the main signatories on the Treaty of Waitangi - New Zealand's founding document in 1840. Ceillhe is passionate about her indigenous culture and wishes to share her experiences of a rich living culture that uses the essence of time to draw on the past, present and future to ensure her manuhiri (valued guests) are central to the experience and feel integrated in a meaningful and connected way. Winner of several global tourism awards as well as named as one of the world’s top 25 global guides in 2021, she will share her extensive knowledge and love of New Zealand in a way that ensures people and places are equally respected.

Sam Taylor from ChristchurchNZ drops in to talk about their Industry Collaboration Finalist entry with Christchurch Airport.  Sam is a senior marketer with a background in branding across the private sector and some of NZ's most iconic brands including Just Juice, V Energy, and JUCY Group. In his current role at ChristchurchNZ he leads the team delivering marketing across the full economic development remit, including tourism. This means he has an understanding of how tourism marketing fits in to the bigger picture of economic development goals and how important a strong destination is to a place more generally.

And finally, we welcome back Tori and James Burns from the  Russell Orongo Bay Holiday Park – this time talking about their second finalist entry, this time in the Community Engagement Award.

Timings: 

8.26 Ceillhe Sperath - www.newzealandtours.travel

29.42  Sam Taylor -  https://www.christchurchnz.com/ & https://www.christchurchairport.co.nz/

49.09 Tori and James Burns - https://russellaccommodation.co.nz/

Terms and conditions for the prize can be found at www.destinatenz.com/competitions

#NZTourismAwards #TourismMarketing #MarketingTips #Marketing #TourismAwards #NZTourism #TourismNZ #NewZealandBusiness 

Part 5 of our series on the 2021 NZ Tourism Awards finalists delivers another three awesome businesses right to your device. 

Our first guest needs absolutely no introduction as we introduced him to you last week.   And if you haven’t listened to the Part 4 episode we strongly recommend you go back and do that right after this.  It’s Matt Stenton from Go With Tourism and this week we’re talking about their finalist entry in the Tourism New Zealand Industry Collaboration Category.

Following Matt, we chat with Alex Dykman from Maverick Digital Tourism Marketing who are finalists in the Tourism Talent Employer of Choice Award.  Passionate about empowering tourism to embrace change through technology, Alex is the Founder of Maverick Digital, a digital agency working exclusively with tourism. In doing so, Alex has helped to lead the charge in a new era of digital transformation for our industry. Alex currently leads a staff of 16 tourism marketers, and through a culture of workplace wellness, staff engagement and career development, she is dedicated to making Maverick one of the best places to work in New Zealand. Currently experiencing huge growth, Maverick was recently named #250 in the Deloitte Fast 500 for Asia Pacific Technology businesses.

And last by definitely not least, we welcome another double finalist to the show – James and Tori Burns from the Russell Orongo Bay Holiday Park.

In 2018, James and Tori were offered the opportunity to buy the Russell - Orongo Bay Holiday Park. Russell had always been a special place for them, they were married there 5 years earlier in Christ Church - NZ’s oldest working church. The Holiday Park had always been a magical place for them to stay, set in 14 acres of native bush. The night sky is magnificent with kiwi calling all around and a kiwi trail to explore. It is home to some rare birds - the ornithological society identified 55 species of birds in one day.  As newbies to the tourism industry, and big debts hanging over them, it has been a roller coaster few years and they have had to pivot, diversify, be resilient and use innovative ideas to survive.  Today we are chatting to them about their finalist entry in the Westpac Resilience and Innovation Award.

We also have a competition on our socials ( https://www.facebook.com/DestinateNZ and https://www.instagram.com/Destinate_NZ) to win a trip for two out to the Poor Knights Islands with Dive! Tutukaka who featured last week on the show.  Winners drawn and announced on next weeks' show. 

Timings: 

10.10 - Matt Stenton (https://www.gowithtourism.co.nz/) 

30.12 - Alex Dykman (https://www.maverickdigital.nz/)

49.06 - Tori and James Burns (https://russellaccommodation.co.nz/) 

For competition details and to contact us - www.destinatenz.com/links 

#tourismmarketing #NZTourismAwards #TourismAwards #celebratingsuccess #nzpodcast #marketingpodcast #competition

This week we’re joined by two more amazing finalists – and we decided to stick with just two this week as their stories were so entertaining and interesting, we didn’t want to cut them short.

First up, we have a finalist in the Marsh Tourism Industry Champion Award, Matt Stenton. 

Having led multiple youth entrepreneurial programmes and contributing to various steering groups, boards and government boards in New Zealand, Matt brings an exciting and diverse set of experiences. Matt’s motto is “Simple done well”, and he demonstrates this with his incredible ability to create simple solutions for complex problems. Combined with his cheeky personality and ability to get ‘stuff’ done, he’s a master of cutting through the ‘BS’ to get to the heart of the matter. Matt is known for his extensive network and international tourism & hospitality connections. In 2011 he helped shape Virgin Australia New Zealand by introducing their new service design methodology and establishing new ways to train the aircrew. In late 2014, he was instrumental in delivering Gulfstreams 100th G650ER into service in New Zealand. Matt is currently the Programme Director for Go with Tourism.

And following on from Matt, we welcome Jeroen Jungejans from Dive! Tutukaka, finalists in the Westpac Resilience and Innovation award.

Jeroen is owner of Dive! Tutukaka, Perfect Day and Lodge9 - a marine adventure company based in Tutukaka, Northland, and heading out to the Poor Knights Islands - any activity in on or under at the best little Marine Reserve on the planet. A strong focus on the blue economy, the marine environment, leaving our rohe a better place than we found it, and acting as great ancestors are the driving forces behind Jeroen and his business.

These interviews are seriously good, so listen in until the end and please enjoy the show.  Don’t forget to leave us a 5 star rating wherever you listen in, and please share this with your colleagues and mates.

Don't forget, we also have the Dart River Adventures competition going – and this is especially for you our listeners … it’s super easy, just jump on our website www.destinatenz.com/competitions and fill out the form to tell us your favourite episode so far and why.  We’re loving hearing all your reasons so far, but we know there are more of you who haven’t yet entered!  The prize is a funyak safari for two valued at $598! Who doesn’t want to win that?  Thanks to www.dartriver.co.nz 

Timings: 

4.59 - Matt Stenton www.gowithtourism.co.nz

26.18 - Jeroen Jungejans, Dive! Tutukaka www.diving.co.nz 

www.destinatenz.com #DestinateNZ #tourismmarketing #NZTourismAwards #NZTourism 

We are super excited to welcome another three awesome finalists in the NZ Tourism Awards 2021 to the show. 

We're joined by Nicole Botting, finalist in the PATA NZ Trust Emerging Leader Award.  A very smart marketer who has made a huge impression in the industry in every role she has had. 

After that, we're joined by Jared Simcox who is the Business Manager at The Dark Sky Project in Tekapo.  The Dark Sky Project is a finalist in the He Kai Kei Aku Ringa Maori Tourism Award.  This is the only place you can go to hear the stories of the stars as told by the local Maori - they are not shared online!

And finally, we welcome the woman with the best job in the world - Emma Bean from the National Kiwi Hatchery in Rotorua.  Emma spends her day caring for kiwi eggs that are brought in from the wild to hatch at the facility - it's a true conservation in action story and it's no surprise they are finalists in the DOC Conservation Award. 

Please enjoy the show - and head to our Facebook page www.facebook.com/DestinateNZ to enter our competition to win a Summit Experience for TWO valued at $298 at the Dark Sky Project.  Winners drawn 5th October and announced on the show on 6th October 2021.

Timings: 

8.44 Nicole Botting (https://www.maverickdigital.nz/)

23.45 Jared Simcox, The Dark Sky Project (https://www.darkskyproject.co.nz/)

46.26 Emma Bean, The National Kiwi Hatchery (https://www.nationalkiwihatchery.org.nz/)

Enjoy the show, thanks for listening.  www.destinatenz.com #DestinateNZ #TourismAwards #NZTourismAwards #NZTravel #NZTourism #NewZealand 

In week 2 of our 2021 NZ Tourism Awards special, we are joined by three finalists. 

1) Loren Heaphy from ChristchurchNZ who is a finalist in the PATA NZ Trust Emerging Tourism Award.  https://www.christchurchnz.com/

2) Dr Arthur Chin from NZ Nature Highlights, a unique story of his online experience and how he has grown to be one of Airbnb's top rated experiences and now a finalist in the NZME Visitor Experience Award. https://baabaa-nz.com/

3) Jolanda Cave from Dart River Adventures, part of the Ngai Tahu Tourism group who are also finalists in the NZME Visitor Experience Award. https://www.dartriver.co.nz/

This is a great selection of talent from our industry and we've only just begun. 

Timings: 

0.50: Winner Announced from last week's competition

7.24 Loren Heaphy's interview

27.05 Arthur Chin's interview

47.12 Jolanda Cave's interview 

We have another fabulous competition just for our listeners this week so tune in to find out how you can enter! 

www.destinatenz.com 

#tourismmarketing #NZTourismAwards #Leadership #VisitorExperience 

Thank you for returning to listen to The Destinate NZ Show. We have a really exciting series of episodes lined up over the next few weeks, all focused on the 2021 NZ Tourism Awards Finalists.  Today we start by chatting with Eve Lawrence from the Haka Tourism Group, followed by Heidi Farren and Nigel Hobbs from Altitude Tours in Queenstown. 

Eve is a finalist in the PATA NZ Trust Emerging Tourism Leader Award and Altitude Tours is a finalist in the NZME Visitor Experience Award. 

Our guests are exceptional examples of the excellence we enjoy celebrating in the tourism industry. 

Don't forget to enter our Instagram competition to win an Altitude Tours Wine Sampler Wine tour which has been awarded the World's BEST Wine Tour by TripAdvisor 2020/2021.  It's valid for two people and valued at NZ$378.  (Prize drawn 21st September 2021)

Episode Timings: 

Heidi/Nigel, Altitude Tours: 14:45

Eve Lawrence: 34:20 

For more info on our guests: https://www.altitudetours.co.nz/  & https://hakatourismgroup.com/ 

www.destinatenz.com | #DestinateNZ | #TourismMarketing | #CelebratingSuccess | #NZTourismAwards