Wednesday 14 August 2019
For immediate release

Media Release from Tourism Export Council of New Zealand

Tourism Export Council welcomes new funding to grow tourism industry talent

The Tourism Export Council New Zealand (TECNZ) welcomes the Government’s announcement of $5.2 million in funding to expand Go with Tourism, an initiative to promote and attract talent to the tourism industry.

“Tourism is our largest export earner and we are pleased to see the government investing money into building our workforce capability.” says TECNZ Chief Executive Judy Chen.

Ms Chen says TECNZ has been working for some time to encourage careers in tourism by working closely with our industry partners and stakeholders and she is pleased to see further work being done to attract and retain people in the tourism industry.

‘’It’s important for people to see that there is a career to be had in the tourism industry. We need a skilled workforce to maintain our reputation as a high-quality destination.”

TECNZ has its own subsidiary ‘YoungTEC’ to encourage networking within young tourism professionals and to develop new leaders in our industry.

“YoungTEC has its own professional development programme, an annual Summit, and a Leadership Day course aimed at supporting young tourism professionals in their career path.

We also offer YoungTEC members regular networking events and currently a partnership programme with the New Zealand School of Tourism where students get a glimpse of what it is like to work in the tourism industry through a ‘speed-dating‘ initiative.’’ she says.

The funding announced today will expand the Go With Tourism programme into more regions, setting up a national hub with a dedicated team to manage the initiative along with regional coordinators, building an online knowledge hub for everyone in the industry, and organising engagement opportunities nationwide, such as school ambassadors, industry open days and work placements.

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 since 1971.  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.

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