ITC Industry News Bulletin #8

Once again, this week’s tourism news is incredibly positive, even as we head into the winter months.

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New Zealand favourite film destination

According to a study by the HBO television network (Game of Thrones, The Wire, etc.), New Zealand is the most popular film destination in the world. This is largely thanks to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Tourism New Zealand chief executive Kevin Bowler said ‘film tourism’ continues to be a strong aspect of New Zealand’s marketing strategy.

“We have continuing interest from film makers wanting to use New Zealand as their backdrop and we are confident our role of film tourism is going to keep us top of mind for those people wanting to live the dream and visit their favourite film locations,” Mr Bowler said in a statement.

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A day in the life of a travel agent

Michelle, Manager of Harvey World Travel Botany, shares what it’s like to work as a travel agent

What’s it really like to work as a travel agent? We recently interviewed Michelle Savusa, Manager at Harvey World Travel Botany, about her exciting career. Michelle has over 21 years of experience in the travel industry and has been working for Harvey World Travel for more than a decade. She was kind enough to share with us some of the wisdom she’s learned along the way.

ITC: Describe a typical day in your job – what is it really like to work for a travel agency?

Michelle: Each day can be very different and often unpredictable. We receive enquiries via phone, walk-in and email. Most of our day is spent on the following tasks:

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ITC students celebrate different cultures at Global Wednesday event

Team India, who won this year’s award for Best Costumes at Global Wednesday

What do you get when you combine delicious food + colourful costumes + fun skits? Global Wednesday, of course!

Every year ITC hosts Global Wednesday, a student event dedicated to celebrating different countries and cultures.

Each class is required to prepare a presentation about their chosen country, and this often turns into one big celebratory feast, complete with plenty of music, fun and laughter.

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ITC Industry News Bulletin #7

In this week’s Industry News Bulletin, New Zealand has been named one of the most peaceful countries in the world – yet another great selling point for the tourism industry

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NZ makes top 5 peaceful countries

New Zealand is the fourth most peaceful country in the world, according to the latest Global Peace Index by the Institute for Economics & Peace. This places us just behind Iceland, Denmark and Austria. Yet another reason why New Zealand is such a fantastic tourism destination! (more…)

We took our intern bungy jumping and this is what happened

Pictured: ITC intern Vaheana bungy jumps off Auckland Harbour Bridge. Thanks for the great day AJ Hackett Bungy!

Vaheana, our intern from French Polynesia, has been helping out the ITC marketing team over the past several weeks. She recently joined ITC tutor Mel on a short course and was given the opportunity to bungy jump off the Harbour Bridge – a true New Zealand tourism experience! Vaheana shares what happened on this exhilarating day out.

Thanks to Lesley and Mel, who kindly offered to take me on an ITC Adventure Tourism short course, I had the amazing opportunity to jump off the Harbour Bridge.

As soon as we arrived at AJ Hackett Bungy the friendly staff started to get us ready for the attraction. We had to wear a suit, a harness and of course a helmet. Once everyone was ready Sophie – our tour guide for the day – gave us a little bit of history about the Auckland Harbour Bridge. The Bridge was originally built in the 50s to link the North Shore to the Auckland CBD. Before that, people had to take a ferry to go to the North Shore.

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Practice makes perfect: ITC graduate aces job interview

ITC graduate Tuita Tokareta wowed the General Manager of 360 Discovery Cruises when she went for a job interview. It goes without saying that she was offered the position!

“Would you like to come in for an interview?” This is the question every job hunter wants to hear. So why does it make so many people break out in a nervous sweat?

Going for a job interview doesn’t have to be terrifying. At the International Travel College of New Zealand (ITC), students are given plenty of CV and job preparation support, helping to ensure they are ready to impress when they walk into the interview room.

And impress is definitely what ITC graduate Tuita Tokareta did when she went for an interview with 360 Discovery Cruises.

“She was the best prepared person I have interviewed in a long time,” said 360 Discovery General Manager James Bailey.

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3 Ways To Celebrate Matariki 2016

The Matariki constellation. Image credit: http://www.mch.govt.nz/nz-identity-heritage/matariki

The 2016 Matariki Festival, celebrating the M­āori New Year, will begin on June 06 2016. This is an important time in the Māori calendar, as it is an opportunity to “connect with, and give thanks to the land, sea and sky”.

This celebration offers people a chance to come together over traditional food, rituals and etertainment. There are plenty of public events running over the festival period – why not make the most of the opportunity to get involved and learn more about the Māori culture? (more…)

ITC Industry News Bulletin #5

In this week’s Industry News Bulletin, Jetstar announces new flights, Air New Zealand cleans up at the Paris Air Show Awards and the cruise industry is going from strength to strength

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New air services a boost for tourism

Jetstar today announced it will add new flights to at least four regional New Zealand destinations. The Tourism Industry Association believes this will have a positive impact on New Zealand tourism, making it easier for people to access remote areas of the country. “Offering them [tourists] more good value options for flights will definitely boost that spending,” said TIA Chief Executive Chris Roberts.  (more…)

Introducing the ITC student bloggers

What’s it really like to be a student at the International Travel College? We have recruited a team of student bloggers to bring you the inside word about what’s happening around ITC.

The bloggers will be writing articles about college life – here’s a little bit of information about them all. Keep an eye out for their blog posts in the near future!

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ITC Industry News Bulletin #4

In this week’s industry news another air deal looks to improve flights to and from New Zealand and local businesses do incredibly well in the TripAdvisor Awards

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NZ surges ahead in TripAdvisor awards

More than 3,000 New Zealand tourism businesses have been awarded a Certificate of Excellence by TripAdvisor in 2015. This is a 76 per cent increase from last year – an amazing achievement and a true testament to the quality of tourism providers around the country. Well done New Zealand! (more…)