Proud South lslander, Queenstown resident and tourism legend Tony McQuilkin, has been made a Life Member of the Tourism Export Council New Zealand (TECNZ), an accolade that is only given out every few years.
McQuilkin was awarded the life membership at the TECNZ Xmas Symposium held in Auckland this week, which was attended by a record-breaking 340 tourism operators and suppliers.
Commercial Director for Real Journeys, Mr MQuilkin has dedicated the last four decades to tourism in New Zealand and in 2014 he won the industry’s highest accolade, the Sir Jack Newman Award.
TECNZ CEO Judy Chen said the organisation was delighted to have given Mr McQuilkin the award as he exemplied the passion, dedication and professionialism of the industry.
“It is people like Tony who have helped make tourism New Zealand’s largest export earner. We are very proud that he is a TEC member and he is a fantastic role model for everyone who works in tourism.”
Mr MQuilkin began his career in tourism in 1980 as Queenstown Area Manager for Fiordland Travel (which later became Real Journeys). By 1984, he had become head of sales, building the tourism relationships that are still in place today.
Many of Real Journeys distinctive features can be traced back to Mr McQuilkin’s influence; its unique coaches (glass topped bullet design that maximise the views for all); the introduction of overnight boats to Fiordland and the uniquely Kiwi multi-day Discovery Expeditions.
He has a strong belief that meeting face to face and building relationships is what makes the difference and taught his sales team: “If a man or woman gives you business – you go and thank them!”
Mr McQuilkin also has great regard for the community he lives in and is Chairman of the Queenstown Trails Trust. He served 16 years on the board of what is now called Destination Queenstown and is passionate about the TSS Earnslaw and the Fiordland region.
The future of New Zealand’s tourism industry depends on the country valuing it more as a rewarding and professional career, says the Tourism Export Council of New Zealand (TECNZ).
TECNZ CEO Judy Chen said, following the annual symposium in Auckland, that without a dedicated cohort of skilled new industry leaders our largest export earner could be at risk of losing value.
She said while there were many excellent tertiary courses available, some parents were steering their children away from tourism because it was no longer a NCEA subject. In 2014 tourism and hospitality were removed as NCEA subjects that could be used towards University Entrance.
“We have strong anecdotal evidence that tourism is very much under-valued as a career because parents can’t see the pathway starting at the NCEA level. They tend to see tourism as a soft option with only lower-end jobs. However the reality is very much the opposite: we need senior, highly skilled people now and will continue to require more. We need to future-proof the industry by developing a specialised tourism workforce.”
“Unless we can get a continous stream of ambitious, smart young people to fill the managerial and professional roles, we could see a decline in the standard of tourism experiences in the future.”
Some universities offered dedicated tourism degrees while others included tourism majors as part of their Bachelors of Commerce, she said. Many polytechnics and other tertiary providers also offered a very high standard of courses.
“Great courses are available but we do need support for our industry from schools, parents, government and the wider public. As a nation, we need to change our attitude towards the tourism industry otherwise our number one export earning sector will suffer.”
Ms Chen said TECNZ welcomed the Government’s recent announcement on free tertiary education for 80,000 students and hoped this would attract more into the tourism courses.
She said the industry itself highly rated the courses available and many employers also valued career progression. TECNZ supported further professional development programme through its YoungTEC membership.
This week both the TECNZ Xmas Symposium and YoungTEC Summit were held in Auckland with a record-breaking attendance of more than 340 tourism operators and suppliers.
“The strong attendance shows TECNZ and YoungTEC members value the opportunity to network, share ideas and learn about new trends in our burgeoning tourism industry.
“The increase in YoungTEC attendance was especially pleasing as it shows the level of commitment from our tourism employers to invest in the future of our emerging leaders and that there is a great career path in tourism. We just need wider support for this path.”
A highlight at the Xmas Symposium this year was awarding Queenstown tourism legend, Tony McQuilkin, the TECNZ Life Member Award; an accolade that is only given out every few years. Commercial Director for Real Journeys, Mr McQuilkin has dedicated the last four decades to tourism.
Ms Chen said she was also delighted to announce that the 2018 TECNZ annual conference would be returning to the Hawke’s Bay in August, last held there in 2005.
Queenstown tourism company Ziptrek Ecotours is celebrating another successful ‘Locals Day’ as over 200 locals ‘took to the trees’ yesterday (Sunday October 29) to raise money for chosen charity Wakatipu High School Branches Camp.
Over $5000 was raised for the Branches Trust which financially supports the iconic camp for Year 10 students.
This year for the first time Ziptrek chose three local volunteer organisations as potential beneficiaries of its Locals Day, and asked the community to vote for which charity they wanted to support.
A resounding 56% of the votes backed Branches Camp, which will host 180 students this year.
On the day locals got to experience the Kea-6 line or Moa-4 line at a heavily discounted rate of $50, with proceedings going towards Branches.
Branches Charitable Trust chair Louise Ward said the money raised was a fifth of the funds the trust needed to put towards the camp to keep it affordable for students and families.
“We can’t thank Ziptrek enough for their help, thanks so much,” she said.
“This amazing environment in the trees is in complete harmony with what we do in Branches with our walking, abseiling, use of harnesses and Ziptrek’s emphasis on sustainability.”
Ziptrek Ecotours has been supporting local charitable organisations for nearly eight years and prides itself on its environmental sustainability.
Ziptrek Ecotours director Trent Yeo said it was “awesome” for their staff to see so many Branches fans and advocates on the day, zipping around the forest.
“We’re proud to support a camp that has been providing safe outdoor experiences for fifty years, something that’s a rite of passage for all young people who grow up in the Queenstown district,” he said.
The Branches Trust was formed in 2009 when Wakatipu High School became increasingly worried about rising costs.
Mr Yeo said Locals Day was a favourite with staff because it gave the company the chance to ‘harness up’ a few locals to give them a glimpse into what the company worked towards and how passionate they were.
“Connecting locals and visitors to our surrounding region is important as we’re educating them about the importance of sustainable environmental practice,” he said.
“That’s why it’s been a privilege to raise money for Wakatipu High School so students can help understand and spread this message.”
Local groups Ziptrek has supported to date include the Lakes Family Centre, Youth Booth, Wakatipu Search & Rescue, Kiwi Birdlife Park, St Johns Ambulance, Queenstown Scouts and Wakatipu Reforestation Trust.
Leading the way in zipline innovation and sustainable business practice, Ziptrek Ecotours launched in New Zealand in November 2009 and since then has completed nearly three-quarters of a million zips through the forest canopy on Queenstown Hill on ‘gravity fed ziplines’.
For further media information or hi-res images please contact:
Ziptrek Ecotours
Nicky Busst
E: nbusst@ziptrek.com
T: 027 721 9017
W: www.ziptrek.co.nz
Southern PR
Fiona Woodham
E: fiona@southernpr.co.nz
T: 0274 313 270
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The Tourism Export Council (TEC) is delighted to announce that this year the famed Xmas Symposium and Young TEC Summit will take place at the Skycity Convention centre in Auckland. The Young TEC event is on Tuesday 5 December from 1pm and the TEC Symposium follows the next afternoon, Wednesday 6 December from 2pm.
TEC CEO Judy Chen says these two events are offered to TEC and Young TEC members annually to encourage members to come together for networking and to be part of a fun and informative programme with great speakers from both within and outside the industry.
The TEC 2017 speaker line-up includes Paul Yeo from Tourism New Zealand, Tony Boot from BTM Marketing, Kiri Atkinson-Creen presenting on the successful Tuku Iho exhibition and the keynote speaker; Davey Hughes from Swazi Apparel.
The Young TEC Summit, the organisations main networking event of the year, will be delving into the ‘’kiwi way’’ and how kiwi culture contributes to our product and services. The combination of both guest speakers and a panel session makes this event one not to be missed.
The Tourism Export Council would also like to thank in advance Skycity, New Zealand Maori Tourism and BTM Marketing for their kind sponsorship to this year’s event.
For those non-members working in the tourism industry who are interested in finding out more about becoming a TEC member or attending one of our events please be in touch directly with the Tourism Export Council team.
Registrations for both events close at 5pm on Friday 25 November. For more information please visit http://www.tourismexportcouncil.org.nz/events/.
October 11 2017
Crowne Plaza Christchurch wins silver in national award
The design team behind the stunning new Crowne Plaza Christchurch has won a silver award in a national competition.
New Zealand design agency Designworks received the silver accolade in the Best Design Awards for its innovative and fresh design approach for the hotel.
The company was a finalist in the hotly-contested Hospitality Spatial Design category.
Designworks architect Naomi Rushmer said there was an extremely high standard of entries in the category.
“Our entry for Crowne Plaza Christchurch was in the notoriously tough hospitality category with large entry numbers,” she said.
“To win a silver award on the night was a great result.”
The Best Awards are run by The Designers Institute of New Zealand, and Ms Rushmer said Designworks had a “very successful” night with wins across Spatial, Graphic, Best Effect, Product and Ngā Aho categories.
“The awards are a wonderful opportunity to showcase the new hotel design to a wider audience and we’re delighted with the end result,” she said.
Designworks focused on delivering a creative guest experience for Crowne Plaza Christchurch based around being welcomed into the property, and how that flowed into relaxation, eating and working across the entire hotel.
“As the city’s largest hotel, attracting locals and those from across the globe, the design needed to deliver an exciting and unique experience maximizing the 360-degree views of the Port Hills, Southern Alps and Pacific Ocean,” said Ms Rushmer.
Eye-catching features around the 204-room upscale hotel include a lobby space featuring timber slats wrapping the walls and a large freeform mesh ceiling feature, inspired by the winding Avon River, glowing over the reception pods.
The space connects to the adjacent lobby bar through a striking doubled-sided central fireplace, and a grand open staircase connects to first floor dining, library and meeting rooms.
Full-height windows flood the ground floor with natural light during the day, and dramatic lighting brings the spaces to life at night. The design detail even drills down to feature carpets and rugs drawing inspiration from the braided rivers and topography of the South Island.
Standout design features in rooms include glazed bathrooms (with privacy blinds) that are open to the rooms and changing vistas, and large window seats in every room framing expansive views.
Crowne Plaza Christchurch General Manager Reinier Eulink said the hotel team and owners were “delighted” with the world-class design and congratulated Designworks on the silver award.
September 21 2017
Community invited to vote on Ziptrek locals day recipient in Queenstown
Queenstown tourism company Ziptrek Ecotours is taking its Locals Day to a whole new level.
The multi-award-winning company is giving its local community the chance to vote on which one of three local voluntary organisations should receive thousands of dollars from their annual fundraising day.
The company has chosen what Ziptrek Ecotours director Trent Yeo calls “three amazing organisations” as the lucky short-listed participants for the funds.
Wakatipu Alpine Cliff Rescue, the local high school’s Branches Charitable Trust and the Queenstown Fire Brigade are all volunteer organisations working tirelessly in the district.
They each feature on Ziptrek’s website with an explanatory paragraph on who they are and what they do, and a short video in which the representatives talk about why they should be chosen.
Branches Camp is a 12-day Wakatipu High School Year 10 outdoor camp held in remote Skippers Canyon. It’s regarded as a ‘rite of passage’ by all past and present students, and the Trust was formed in 2009 by locals concerned with escalating costs of running the camp.
Trust chair Louise Ward said as the costs of providing health and safety plans and guides increased each year, the goal of the Trust was to keep costs to students and families to a minimum “so every child in the Wakatipu can afford to go”.
The Wakatipu Alpine Cliff Rescue team is a small, high-profile group of professionally-trained and enthusiastic alpine rescue personnel who operate beyond the scope of normal ambulance, fire LandSAR search teams or police rescue services.
“We help people who can’t help themselves, anywhere that’s steep and difficult where you need technical equipment and competency,” said representative Chris Prudden. “We need a lot of support because ongoing equipment and training costs chew up the money.”
Last but not least, the 100% volunteer Queenstown Fire Brigade features about 50 members from all around the world, operating since 1863 and responding to over 300 calls a year.
Fireman Jesse Johnston said the brigade was “eternally grateful” to members employers who supported their roles. It’s also very appreciative of donations from the community, which is used to provide specialist training for brigade members and fund the purchase of key equipment required by the brigade.
Locals are being encouraged to go to the website to check the links and vote for the organisation they believe is most deserving of the locals’ day proceeds.
Ziptrek have supported seven local groups since opening in 2009, including Lakes Family Centre, Youth Booth, Wakatipu Search & Rescue, Kiwi Birdlife Park, St Johns Ambulance, Queenstown Scouts and Wakatipu Reforestation Trust, raising over a whopping $150K in total.
Voting closes on Saturday September 30 and the locals day will be held on Sunday October 29 2017.
On Locals Day, the local community is given the chance to experience the thrill-seeking fun of Ziptrek for a heavily discounted price. A significant proportion of the proceeds will go to the chosen charity.
Trent Yeo said the company was “dedicated and passionate” about helping another worthwhile local community cause as it “forms part of what Ziptrek stands for”.
Leading the way in zipline innovation and sustainable business practice, Ziptrek Ecotours launched in New Zealand in November 2009 and since then has completed nearly three-quarters of a million zips through the forest canopy on Queenstown Hill on ‘gravity fed ziplines’.
NOTE TO EDITORS – FURTHER IMAGES AVAILABLE ON REQUEST
Picture captions:
1/ A Ziptrek Ecotours guest enjoying the view of Queenstown while ‘zipping’ through the trees
For further media information or hi res images please contact:
Ziptrek Ecotours
Nicky Busst
Email: nbusst@ziptrek.com
Phone: 027 721 9017
Web: www.ziptrek.co.nz
OR
Southern PR
Fiona Woodham
E: fiona@southernpr.co.nz
P: 0274 313 270
Web: www.southernpr.co.nz
James Cook Hotel supports New Zealand’s Worth Loving Wellington Pollution Awareness Mural Clean Up Day