ITC students help to bring The 36th America’s Cup to life

The America’s Cup is returning to Auckland, and ITC student volunteers are helping to make it all happen.

The 38^th America’s Cup is returning to Auckland this summer, and once again, ITC students have offered their time to help make it happen.

We’re counting down the days until this world-famous yacht race gets started, so here’s a little more about the cup itself and how ITC is getting involved. (more…)

ITC students step up to volunteer at Auckland Travel Expo

The Auckland Travel Expo featured the region’s best attractions and experiences, all with the help of wonderful ITC volunteers.

The first ever Discover Auckland Travel Expo was held over the weekend on November 14 at Shed 10, offering a chance for visitors to learn about all the experiences and sights throughout the region.

This annual event is a large undertaking, requiring a lot of planning to put together and hands on deck to help it run seamlessly on the day. Naturally, a number of ITC students were quick to sign up to volunteer their weekend time to help out.

Here’s a little more about the expo, and feedback from our student volunteers. (more…)

ITC famils educate, entertain, and inspire budding travel and tourism students

ITC students have recently been attending incredible famils around New Zealand, including this beautiful trip out on the water.

Every year, ITC takes students on famils – familiarisations – that include short trips of non-stop adventure and travel all over New Zealand.

These famils offer students the opportunity to experience some of New Zealand’s best tourism hotspots, take part in adventure activities, see beautiful scenery, and get an up-close-and-personal look at just how everything is run.

These events are not just incredibly fun highlights of the year for students, but a chance to dip their toes into the industry and get a taste for what their future careers might entail. (more…)

Short courses for high school students: Will you go on an epic adventure or pick up extra NCEA credits this summer?

Students can enjoy a thrilling zipline adventure during ITC’s two-day Ultimate Intrepid Journey course.

The weather is getting warmer already and there’s no doubt summer is on its way, although it may look a little different to what many students had in mind this year. With international travel off the cards, some won’t be heading away for holidays, while others won’t be heading home as planned.

With that in mind, Education New Zealand has launched a country-wide initiative to help support high school students this summer. The Great Kiwi Virtual Summer Fair is taking place this weekend on October 31 to offer inspiration and advice about enjoying the country the Kiwi way these holidays, whereas NauMai NZ is available to help students work through their options about staying or leaving the country.

Here at ITC, we’re offering two incredible short summer courses; the first to entertain and inspire, and the second to help students gain extra NCEA units. (more…)

Study in Auckland: The world’s third best place to live

Auckland was recently ranked the third best place in the world to live by an international index.

If you want to study airline, travel and tourism, Auckland is the place to be. The ‘City of Sails’ was ranked the third best place to live in the world for Quality of Living, according to the Mercer Quality of Living Index.

Auckland beat cities such as Geneva, Copenhagen and Sydney to reach number three (a ranking it shares with Munich). A total of 231 cities were ranked, with Vienna and Zurich taking out the top two spots.

Political, environmental, and social factors contributed to Auckland’s high ranking, says Mercer New Zealand CEO Martin Lewington.

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Five key takeaways from Discussing Tourism Auckland

ITC students Meleane Teu and Alapasita Tupou recently attended the Discussing Tourism Auckland event. Here they are pictured together, and with ITC Managing Director Kerry Priestley.

Last month, two students from the International Travel College of New Zealand (ITC) won tickets to attend Discussing Tourism Auckland, an informative event hosted by Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA). Below, one of the lucky students – Meleane Teu – shares three key things she learned on the day.

It was a great opportunity to be selected to attend this event. We were lucky that our home tutor, Dr Amira, informed us about the event and asked us if we wanted to go. I applied straight away, and not long after I received an email confirming that I had won a ticket.

I learned a lot from the event. We are currently studying a number of the topics discussed in our Diploma in Tourism and Travel Management Level 5.

Here’s five things that stood out the most.

Tourism 2025 strategy

The chief executive of TIA, Chris Roberts, spoke about New Zealand’s tourism strategy for 2025. This is something we have analysed in class, so it was very interesting to hear firsthand from Mr Roberts about what has happened in the two years since the strategy launched. He spoke about how industry is growing and the challenges that New Zealand faces.

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ITC Industry News Bulletin #2

In this week’s Industry News Bulletin we cover the Government’s proposed travel levy, increased arrival numbers and Tourism New Zealand’s off-season marketing campaign, plus more of the latest airline, travel and tourism news

TOP STORIES

NZ annual arrivals heading towards 3 million

Data released late last week shows yet another increase in visitor arrivals. Tourism New Zealand Chief Executive Kevin Bowler said these figures are encouraging and suggest that New Zealand’s peak season “is slowly extending later into the shoulder months”. (more…)

ITC short course leads to work experience for students

Explore New Zealand recently offered a group of ITC short course students the opportunity to do some work experience

When secondary school students attend a short course at the International Travel College (ITC), they walk away with more than credits.

In many cases, students leave with a work experience opportunity, or even a job offer!

On a recent Tourism Short Course, ITC arranged for the students to participate on several industry visits, including sessions at the Auckland Whale and Dolphin Safari, Auckland Adventure Jet and Explore New Zealand.

This approach connects students directly with the industry, allowing them to see for themselves what it is like to work in tourism.

It also provides students with the opportunity to make a good first impression with some of Auckland’s top tourism employers. (more…)

ITC customer service superstars help at International Student Welcome

Students from the International Travel College working at the International Student Welcome Event held at the Cloud yesterday (Thursday 12 March)

On Thursday 12 March hundreds of international students were welcomed to Auckland at a special event held at The Cloud.

Organised by ATEED, the International Student Welcome is hosted annually and an excellent way to introduce new students to Auckland. (more…)

Industry work experience leads to permanent role for ITC international student

Lisa Chen, an ITC international student from China, has landed her first job in the New Zealand tourism industry. She is working as a part-time receptionist at Base Backpackers while she continues her studies

It’s been a week of job-related celebrations at the International Travel College (ITC). Yesterday we announced that 50 ITC students were employed by Renaissance Tours and today we are celebrating the success of Lisa Chen, who recently started a new part-time job at Base Backpackers in Auckland.

Lisa is an international student from China and is currently studying towards a Level 5 Diploma in International Tourism and Travel Management. She is working for Base as a part-time receptionist while she finishes her studies.

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