5 quick questions with ITC Tourism Education Team Leader Mel Fey

One awesome part of Mel’s job is that she gets to do things like the SkyWalk!

Mel Fey heads up ITC’s Tourism Education Team. She teaches a range of short courses to secondary school students, in the aim of educating them about the exciting airline, travel and tourism industries. We asked her five quick questions about how she got into this role.

1. What sparked your interest in travel and tourism?

When I was younger and I saw flight attendants board their aircraft I thought they must be famous and I wanted to be one. I studied level 3 and 4 tourism after high school and after a couple of customer service roles I ended up spending almost a decade working for Air New Zealand.

2. Do you have any travel tips for those setting out on their first overseas adventure? 

Research before you go. Tell others about your trip as I’ve found the best tips are from those who have been there. Facebook is a great tool for this. Also use companies like STRAY etc, as they know the best places to go and you can travel as a group.

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ITC Industry News Bulletin #12

In the first ITC Industry News Bulletin for August, hotels across New Zealand are performing exceptionally well, cycling holidays are taking off and much more.

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Stellar year for NZ hotels

Hotels across New Zealand are performing exceptionally well according to new data released by the Tourism Industry Association (TIA). The research was based on all TIA-member hotels, of which there are nearly 140 around the country. The average occupancy in these hotels during 2014 was 75.7%, while the average daily rate was $144.

“Almost every region saw record results last year, with the exception of Christchurch where a significant recovery in the supply of available rooms due to hotel openings and re-openings has affected the occupancy statistics,” TIA chief executive Chris Roberts said in a statement.

“These positive trends have continued in 2015 and as a result, we are seeing reinvestment with a number of hotels undergoing refurbishment. And investors are responding to demand with more hotel developments around the country that we have seen for quite some time,” he added.

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What’s it really like to work in a hotel?

Pictured: The Langham, Auckland, one of the city’s finest 5-star hotels. Many ITC students do work experience here to learn about the exciting hotel industry.

We all know that staying in a nice hotel is a lovely experience, but what’s it like to work in one on a daily basis? We asked Jacquelyn Shore, the Human Resources and Recruitment Coordinator at The Langham in Auckland. In this interview, she gives us a glimpse of what life is like behind-the-scenes at a 5-star hotel, as well as shares some tips for students considering a career in this exciting industry.

ITC: Tell us a little bit about yourself – how did you get to be working in this industry?

Jacquelyn: After graduating high school, I spent a year living and travelling overseas, as I always had an interest and passion for travel. I knew that I wanted a university degree so I returned back to NZ to complete my Bachelor of Business majoring in Human Resources and Management at AUT University.  Towards the end of my studies I saw a fixed term part-time Human Resources Administrator position at The Langham Hotel. I applied and the rest is history. Two years later, I am a graduate in the position of full-time Human Resources and Recruitment Coordinator at The Langham Hotel, Auckland and absolutely loving it.

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ITC Industry News Bulletin #11

This week the proposed ‘Travel Tax’ has been dominating the headlines. Read on for the TIA’s latest statement on the topic.

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Tourism New Zealand collaborates with Facebook in new marketing campaign

“One couple, one campervan, one unforgettable road trip around New Zealand.” This is the tagline for a new social media campaign launched by Tourism New Zealand, in collaboration with Facebook.

Called ‘The Kombi Diaries’, this exciting new campaign is based around five short videos, filmed by a couple travelling New Zealand in – you guessed it – a Kombi van. These films are cute, clever and – most importantly – show off some of New Zealand’s most beautiful natural landscapes. Be sure to keep an eye out for them on social media!
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ITC Industry News Bulletin #10

In this week’s bulletin, the tourism industry continues to go from strength to strength, with some economists even hinting it could soon take over dairy as the New Zealand’s largest exporter

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Visitor arrivals at a record high for the month of June

New Zealand is one step closer to reaching its target of 3 million annual arrivals, thanks to a record-breaking June.

Tourism New Zealand chief executive Kevin Bowler said in a statement: “This month’s annual arrivals, at 2.99 million show we are just short of reaching an annual arrivals figure of three million visitors, which is good news for all New Zealanders. It means more jobs and economic value, not just in the peak summer period but with benefits felt throughout the year.”

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Three skills you need to work in adventure tourism

ITC Short Course students get a taste for adventure tourism at Auckland Bridge Climb & Bungy

Love travel, the outdoors and working with people? A career in adventure tourism could be for you.

Imagine doing something like this every day:

The above GIF shows an ITC student bungy jumping off the Auckland Harbour Bridge, one of the city’s most popular adventure tourism activities.

We recently caught up with Graham Trubuhovich (GT), General Manager of AJ Hackett Bungy Auckland. He has some great advice for students who dream of working in the industry.

If you don’t like people, walk away now

“Tourism is firstly a people job,” says GT, “so you should enjoy talking and be prepared to talk about all sorts of random things with random people.”

The good news is, if you love meeting new people and listening to their stories, then working at a place like Bungy will really be your dream job.

“Our crew spend their days meeting customers, signing them up and then either jumping them off or walking them around very high things. That’s usually fun enough, but often the crazy jump stories from customers doing funny jumps or saying funny stuff (there’s been all sorts of confessions over the years…!), plus some of the funny costumes people wear (if they wear anything…) can make your day.”

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ITC Industry News Bulletin #9

The good news continues in this week’s bulletin, with positive industry growth rates at domestic, national and international levels.

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Tourism and conservation to benefit from DOC/TIA partnership

The Tourism Industry Association (TIA) and Department of Conservation (DOC) have entered into a new partnership to protect New Zealand’s natural landscape. The partnership is centred around six key principles which are all designed to help the tourism industry and DOC work closely together to benefit the environment.

“People travel here from all over the world to enjoy our spectacular landscapes and natural scenery,” said TIA chief executive Chris Roberts. “As the tourism industry pursues its Tourism 2025 goal of almost doubling total tourism revenue to $41 billion, we want to work closely with DOC to manage that growth to ensure our environment is protected and the visitor experience is enhanced.”

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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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