Introducing Celeste Cakau

A warm welcome to Celeste Cakau – a new tutor at ITC’s City Campus.

Live. Laugh. Love. As cliché as it is, these three words are what sparked my interest in the airline, travel and tourism industry.

I started my working life as a teller/banking consultant, dealing with customers. I enjoyed playing with everyone else’s money, however this was not where my heart lay! LOVE. They say if you love what you do then it won’t feel like work, so… I decided to make a change.

In 2009, I completed a Tourism and Aviation Certificate with the Air New Zealand Aviation Institute and started working with Menzies as a Passenger Service Agent. In 2010, I became a flight attendant with Jetstar, flying Domestic and Trans-Tasman routes. I also worked part time in the office helping with rosters and banking (couldn’t stay away from the money!).

In 2012, I became a Cabin Crew Trainer, training new recruits and assessing current crew in emergency and standard operating procedures. This is where you could say the LIVE part came in as I was mainly based in Melbourne but also trained out of Brisbane. I was literally living out of a suitcase and couldn’t tell you what day of the week it was.

In the same year, I also helped to set up the Jetstar Auckland Base Training at the Air New Zealand Aviation Institute (coincidentally where I did my travel and tourism course). Glad to be back in NZ and wanting to continue teaching to help students prepare for the travel and tourism industry, I became a training facilitator with the Air New Zealand Aviation Institute. I have a passion for teaching and like to make learning fun by having a lot of laughs.

I was lucky enough in 2013 to tick my dream destination off my bucket list….. EGYPT – my first ever tour with Top Deck Tours. It was amazing!!

My advice to you is work hard so that you can play hard. The Travel and Tourism Industry is by far the most challenging & exciting industry to work in where no two days are the same.

– Celeste

ITC Industry News Bulletin #34

In this week’s airline, travel and tourism news, Tourism New Zealand celebrates a huge social media milestone, Air New Zealand impresses its customers with great coffee and much more.

TOP STORIES

TNZ exceeds staggering 2.25 million social media fans!

Tourism New Zealand is doing an amazing job of marketing our beautiful country on social media. The organisation has just surpassed 2.25 million fans, with 2 million ‘likes’ on Facebook and 253,000 followers on Instagram.

“To put it into context, our 2 million Facebook followers put us in the top 10 NZ Facebook pages – right up there with the All Blacks!” said director of marketing Andrew Fraser.

Mr Fraser said Tourism New Zealand is leveraging these channels to market NZ as a great destination to both prospective travellers and those currently visiting.

“The beauty of social media is that it enables us to engage with individuals at different stages of the holiday cycle, be it during planning or while they are here, and tailor our activity to fit with their changing requirements,” he said.

He added that he’s looking forward to seeing the organisation’s social media presence expand even further in 2016.

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How to dress professionally on a budget

ITC requires students to follow a corporate black and white dress code. Students look smart and professional every day, helping them gain confidence and prepare for a career in tourism.

“Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak.” – Rachel Zoe

The above quote may have been uttered by a celebrity fashion designer, but it is actually incredibly relevant to travel and tourism students.

As the tourism industry is largely customer-facing, employers look for staff who have excellent personal presentation. That’s why ITC enforces a corporate black and white dress code.

Every student is required to wear professional black and white clothing to college, every day. This helps to prepare students for the industry and ensures they always look fantastic for when employers visit campus.

We understand that finding corporate clothing isn’t easy for everyone, which is why we’ve come up with some tips to dress to impress – on a budget. You don’t need designer labels or a lot of money to look fantastic. Here are some ideas to help you update your wardrobe for 2016 at very little cost.

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ITC Industry News Bulletin #33

In this week’s airline, travel and tourism news, New Zealand hotels enjoyed great growth in 2015, affordable AirAsia X flights are coming to Auckland and much more.

TOP STORIES

NZ hotels increase yield & productivity in 2015

2015 was an excellent year for New Zealand hotels, according to new statistics published by the Tourism Industry Association (TIA). The average occupancy rate was 79 per cent – the highest it’s been in years. The revenue per available room was up 13 per cent compared to 2014.

TIA chief executive Chris Roberts says although the “upward trend is encouraging”, the industry still has room for improvement.

“Hotel revenues in New Zealand are still below what is being achieved in Australia and high land and construction costs in New Zealand remain a barrier,” Mr Roberts said.

He believes more investment in hotel infrastructure is needed in order to meet Tourism 2025 goals.

“It is essential that we encourage investment to improve the quality of current infrastructure to meet rising visitor expectations, as well as creating a positive environment for investment in new facilities,” he said.

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Tourism career tip: Get your New Zealand driver licence

Many airline, travel and tourism employers require their staff to have at least a restricted driver licence.

Many of our students are surprised to learn that no matter how good their grades, one important skill can significantly impact their chances of getting a great job: their ability to drive.

Holding a full New Zealand driver licence is a huge advantage if you’re interested in working in the airline, travel or tourism industry. For some employers, it’s non-negotiable; they won’t hire you unless you have your licence.

ITC Account Manager Ceri Jenkins advertises jobs to students from top industry employers. Often holding a driver licence is a requirement – even for jobs you wouldn’t expect driving to play a part.

“About 25 per cent of all jobs I advertise require people to have a restricted or full licence,” says Ceri.

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ITC Industry News Bulletin #32

In this week’s NZ airline, travel and tourism news, Air New Zealand has been named as one of the world’s safest airlines and we take a look at Kiwi travel habits heading into 2016.

TOP STORIES

Air New Zealand makes list of 20 safest airlines for 2016

2015 was an impressive year for Air New Zealand, which received many awards and accolades. The airline looks set to continue its success heading into 2016 – mere days into the new year, Air New Zealand has been named as one of the top 20 safest airlines in the world by AirlineRatings.com.

This independent website provides safety ratings for over 400 air carriers and compiles a list of the safest airlines every year. Qantas was ranked number one for the third year in a row, while the rest of the top 20 was listed in alphabetical order.

Other airlines to make the list include Emirates, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and Virgin Australia.

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Get 2016 off to a great start with a course in travel and tourism

New Zealand’s tourism industry is expected to grow exponentially in 2016. A qualification from ITC can help you pursue this exciting career path.

On behalf of everyone at the International Travel College of New Zealand (ITC), Happy New Year! We hope you enjoyed a lovely Christmas break.

Now that 2016 is underway, it’s a great time to start thinking about your goals for the year ahead. If you’ve been thinking about pursuing a career in airline, travel or tourism, it’s not too early to start working towards this dream.

ITC has classes starting as early as January 11 – that’s less than a week from now! Even if you’re not ready to enrol on this date, you could still arrange to come into the college for a chat. Every day our friendly course advisers meet with prospective students and chat to them about their interests and ambitions. It’s their job to provide students with advice about which course might best suit their needs.

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The best of 2015

From the Amazing Race to Graduation and everything in between, it’s been a great year at ITC.

As another year comes to an end, we thought we’d take this opportunity to look back at some highlights from the past 12 months.

2015 has been an incredible year for the industry, and at ITC we’ve had many excited, motivated students pass through these halls, ready to embark on a fantastic career in airline, travel or tourism.

With so many students achieving amazing goals – from moving to Disney World or securing their dream job – it was hard to narrow down our top ten stories of the year. But after much consideration, we think the following stories deserve one last mention before we look ahead to 2016.

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ITC Industry News Bulletin #31

In this week’s airline, travel and tourism news, luxury tourism spend is on the rise and Air New Zealand launches a new initiative to benefit school children.

TOP STORIES

NZ Luxury Lodge data confirms strong sector growth

According to new data from members of Luxury Lodges of New Zealand, spending on luxury accommodation increased between April and September of this year.

Director of Trade, PR and Major Events at Tourism New Zealand, Rene de Monchy, said it was great to see the luxury sector was performing well.

“Seeing such strong growth in the industry over winter is absolutely fantastic and proof that the sector is progressing as strongly as we thought,” Mr de Monchy said.

He added that targeting luxury travellers has been a key focus for Tourism New Zealand this year.

“The results follow significant work from our premium sector team… Since 1 July the premium team have attended six major international trade events, hosted six famils and four media files in New Zealand, and we have a full calendar of activity planned for the coming six months.”

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ITC donates $5,000 to Auckland City Mission

Auckland City Mission Fundraising Team Leader Alexis Sawyers is pictured with ITC Directors Claire Huxley and Kerry Priestley. ITC generously donated $5,000 to the Mission’s 2015 Christmas Appeal.

The International Travel College of New Zealand (ITC) is lending a hand to those in need this festive season.

Instead of enjoying a large staff Christmas party, employees at the college voted to donate $5,000 to the Auckland City Mission – a generous show of support for deserving families in the local community.

“We asked the ITC team if they would prefer to have a big Christmas do or if they wanted to donate the money we’d usually spend to charity and have a smaller celebration,” says ITC Marketing Director Claire Huxley.

“We’re proud to say 98 per cent of the team voted for a smaller Christmas party, which allowed us to make a sizeable donation to the Auckland City Mission.”

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