Nga mihi o te Tau Hou (Happy New Year!)
We can't be the only ones who are wondering how it can be 2017 already. Much has been said about tourism in 2016, and we have all heard the figures given to us so many times that I'm sure many of us could recite them in our sleep!
We can't mention 2016 without talking about the Kaikoura earthquakes - we are happy to know that so many tourism businesses are back and how so many kiwis rallied to ensure that people and businesses had what they needed to get back to their version of normal as quickly as possible. As always with natural disasters, the focus will next shift to analysing the response of government and industry, and we look forward to contributing to that.
As we look ahead to this year, we know debate will continue on a range of topics including, but not limited to fresh water, DOC levies, visitor taxes, tourism data, regional spread of visitors, the portrayal of Māori experiences offshore, quality and capability of Māori tourism businesses, the education pipeline for tourism careers, how to ensure tourism businesses can be productive again after natural disasters, and foreign direct investment. NZ Māori Tourism continues to work on these issues and more, and we are continually grateful to the many of you who provide us with your thoughts on these issues.
We look forward to seeing many of you at our rescheduled AGM in Wellington in February, and we will no doubt catch up with many more of you at your business, region, or event over the following months. As always, if there is anything you need help with for your Māori tourism business, we are merely a phone call or email away.
Nga mihi, na,
Pania and the team at NZ Māori Tourism
