It has been 12 months since ITOC changed its name to the Tourism Export Council and time for an annual health check of how the organisation is faring.

For our own personal health we generally measure blood pressure, heart rate and if we are maintaining reasonable size and shape. Its wise to get serviced annually and have a good relationship with our health professional by paying attention to any niggles so that they don’t become something more serious.  ie. preventative maintenance is key

If we apply the above to the Tourism Export Council the health check might be reported as:

a) blood pressure – steady with very few blips between members and key agencies

b) heart – good two way communication = interactive and interested membership. The heart of the organisation from the Board and members indicates confidence going forward

c) size & shape – the organisation is growing with both inbound and allied members and mitigated with less natural attrition

d) relationships with health professionals – we have just completed annual reviews with our MoU partners and any niggles or issues have positively being resolved. We are consulted ‘with, and to’ key tourism agencies representing the private sector views

e) preventative maintenance – the implementation of Young TEC will ensure that the health and wellbeing of younger tourism professionals and exemplifies good succession planning for the future

All businesses and organisations need regular reviews to ensure that they are functioning to its optimum.  The Tourism Export Council is conscious that membership to us is ‘optional’ so we have to ensure that our value to members is identified and measurable. For any relationship to be successful it requires two way engagement between parties. We facilitate business to business ‘trade’ networking opportunities and intelligence that at times does require additional investment which should be seen as investment and not cost.

If you want to have good health and be the best you can be, you might have to invest in exercise or sacrifice some of your favourite things. There are very few relationships that don’t require maintenance or investment of some kind, but one thing we do know, is that if you stop your investment in a relationship, it is alot harder to rekindle from a position of regret. To maximise membership to the Tourism Export Council we encourage participation to the Conference (and the Xmas Symposium) so that business and our relationships are maintained in a healthy manner.

So to sum up the health of the Tourism Export Council we can say, general health – excellent, but keep an eye on any slippage and ways to keep improving. The Tourism Conference this year is 20-23 August at the Copthorne Solway Hotel in Masterton. We look forward to meeting with as many members and industry friends as possible for the annual ‘health check’ of the industry!