Introducing Dan Ranginui

New ITC tutor Dan Ranginui is passionate about travel, tourism and inspiring people to follow their dreams. Welcome to the team, Dan!

Dan Ranginui is a new tutor at the ITC City Campus. He tells us about how he fell in love with the travel and tourism industry, the exciting places his career has taken him to-date and what inspired him to teach.

My passion for the travel industry began as a young boy when at 10 years old I did my first overseas trip! And from there I got the travel bug. At 14 years old my parents thought it was a great idea to send me to Japan on a student exchange – hmmm was that just a way of getting me out of the house!? Anyhow it worked!

Ultimately this resulted in me studying Japanese & International Studies at university and then later returning to Japan to work in the Hotel, Airline and Education Industries. After a few years overseas and more travel, I returned to NZ and took up a role with Air New Zealand. Initially I had an airport-based role, before moving on to a flying role where I worked as a flight attendant flying longhaul routes for 11+ years – and so began my life at 36,000ft! San Francisco, Hong Kong, Dubai, Beijing and so on… A few new destinations to tick off my list!

What an amazing few years I had travelling the globe! Better still I was being paid for it. One memory I will never forget was when I was assisting in the business class cabin. Waking the then Prime Minister ‘the honorable Helen Clark’ up for breakfast prior to descending into LA. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I’d be waking the prime minister in pyjamas while she lay sleeping! The experience, stories, laughs, memories and of course the friends made will stay with me forever. And I am grateful to have had this opportunity to add to the many other wonderful experiences also.

I believe life is about experiencing as much as we can while we can! From flying my journey has now brought me to ITC where I have taken up the position of tutor at the city campus. I am passionate about the travel industry and assisting in the growth of people who are interested in following their own dreams and aspirations especially in travel. I still remember my first entry into the industry as if it were just yesterday and how excited I was! I look forward to sharing my knowledge and experience with you all.