Destinate NZ - Bringing NZ to the World

Air New Zealand are one of the major partners for TRENZ so we are fortunate to have two international GMs join us today for a market update. 

Ben Evers-Swindell, General Manager Americas and Jonathan Zhang, General Manager Asia for Air New Zealand join Michelle in today's episode. 

We discuss the level of interest from trade in attending TRENZ 2023 and changes in the distribution channel in these major markets.  We touch on Air...

Steven Dixon has been the General Manager at Qualmark for just over a year now so we thought now is the right time to catch up and hear about the plans he has for the future of the quality assurance programme. 

Steven gives us insight into the benefits of being part of Qualmark and shares some of the challenges they've had and how they are working their way through them. 

He tells us about some of the updates we'll see to Q...

Fresh off their two big wins at this year's NZ Tourism Awards, we welcome Nadine Toe Toe from Kohutapu Lodge and Tribal Tours in Murupara. 

This is a raw and real interview that covers starting a regenerative tourism business before it was even a thing we talked about.  Nadine opens up on the challenges they've faced and the success they've had through their very authentic connection with their local community. 

Every n...

PurePods have received a lot of attention in the news recently with their capital raise, so I thought it would be fun to have a chat with their Business Development Manager, Kate Baxter to find out more. 

Kate has a history working in tourism but has now swapped her high heels for gumboots and combined her love of the country with her industry experience. 

PurePods offer farmers a fantastic way to diversify their income and with it...

TRENZ is New Zealand’s largest international tourism business event and most important event of the year on the tourism events calendar. TRENZ brings hundreds of international Travel Buyers together to meet with New Zealand’s leading tourism operators (Sellers) over four days to build or renew relationships and negotiate business for upcoming seasons.

We’re excited to be heading to TRENZ at Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre, Ōt...

This week we welcome Maverick Digital's Zac Watson to the show. 

Zac is Head of Partnerships at Maverick but has held a variety of interesting roles throughout his tourism career.   We chat about everything tourism, from his career journey, to his studies and look at advice for those starting out in the industry and operators heading into our first proper tourism summer for a number of years. 

I start the show by discussing Adu...

We're joined today by Tracey Goodall, GM at Great Journeys NZ and Commuter - Kiwirail.  Tracey shares her very interesting career story to date and some of the success stories from working in the regions. 

We also discuss the changes and reimagining of the tourism side of NZ Rail and what the team have been up to during the past two years. 

This is a great story for those who might be looking at a career in tourism and wonderin...

This week is an ode to one of the most successful AFL Captains of all time - Geelong Cats' Joel Selwood.   But bear with me, there is a correlation to tourism and to business. 

I'm back from attending the AFL 2022 Grand Final with 100,023 others at the MCG and I couldn't help but notice to the leadership on and off the field and start thinking about how that relates to us in business.

So this is my short take! Would lov...

Tourism is all about people, and our relationships in the industry is often the main driver for people staying in the industry. 

So how do you become a better networker?

We're joined today by Te Puia's Adam Taylor-Eruera who is often classed as the King of Networking in NZ Tourism.  Adam has built an incredible network during his time working in the industry so we ask him to share his tips for being successful. 

It's Te...

What does sustainability mean? And how does it differ from Regenerative Tourism? 

These are just two of the questions we tackle today on the show.  We're joined by Tourism Industry Aotearoa's Sustainability Advocate, Gisela Purcell to discuss Sustainability in Tourism. 

We cover off the Tourism Sustainability Commitment that over 1500 NZ Tourism businesses have now signed up to, and the best ways to get started on your sust...

A short episode this week to cover off the Better Work Action Plan that is out for consultation with the industry at the moment.  

MBIE are seeking your feedback on the draft Action Plan to understand:

MBIE also want to hear any other comme...

Our guest today is well known around NZ as a passionate connector and voice of regional tourism.  He is Air New Zealand's Regional Affairs Manager, Jason Dawson. 

Jason joins us to talk about the role our national carrier plays in driving regional economic development initiatives and conversations around the country. 

In this chat we cover off everything from route development, new airports, sustainable business initiatives and...

Content is one of the main pillars of marketing in tourism, so today we thought we'd chat about building communities and content with Sarah Chant from New Zealand Travel Tips. 

Sarah lives and breathes content and community, and is convinced of the positive impact both can have on tourism.  Having worked as a travel writer, content designer and community builder for years, she has seen first-hand the benefits of creating online...

What an amazing week for our industry with the borders now fully open!! We will soon be welcoming cruise ships back to our shores and friends from everywhere around the world. 

There is a lot of talk about staffing, and being ready so today we tackle this, and I share some tips from my 'Turn your Customers into Raving fans' workshop. 

The inbound operators are busy, and we need to be ready to welcome guests back to our wond...

When it comes to NZ tourism icons, there is none bigger than our resort town of Queenstown.  Today we’re joined by the new CEO of Destination Queenstown Mat Woods.  It’s fair to say that Mat hasn’t had the traditional career path through the industry to get to his current role, but I'm sure you'll enjoy hearing his interesting back story and how he came to be the new RTO Chief Executive. 

In this episode, we cover everythin...

Ever wondered what goes into putting a TV series on air?  We are joined this week by Sarah Farag, owner of leading luxury destination travel business Southern Crossings, and part of the team behind the hugely successful 'Lap of Luxury' TV series that's been showing on our screens. 

When the borders closed, Sarah had to think differently in order to keep her business afloat, but also be able to support the luxury experie...

Have we got the Customer Experience right?  There is a lot of talk about customers having to make their own beds, that NZ is not ready to welcome customers due to our shortage of key workers - none of which is helping our reputation both here in NZ or off-shore. 

What are some of the steps we can take as tourism operators to ensure that customers are welcomed into our businesses, have clear expectations of what the experience will ...

When I was young, I had a t-shirt that said "Anything boys can do, girls can do better". It was the 1980's and I thought I was so ahead of my time! 

Well today, we're chatting with an upcoming Rising Star of the Tourism Industry, Alice Orr who is proving that girls can do anything. 

Alice is a commercial jet boat driver and all round customer service and sales star at Hukafalls Jet in Taupo and decided at a pretty y...

A lot of us have moved around the country for different roles, but it takes a whole lot more to move your family to another country - in the middle of a global pandemic! 

This week, we welcome industry favourite, Tash Lawrence to the show to share her journey and experience in moving to Singapore late last year.  She's tackled setting up her new business (Kario Consulting), setting up home and settling her daughter into a new s...