Tourism organisations to join forces

Tourism organisations to join forces

The Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) and the New Zealand Hotel Council (NZHC) will integrate into a single organisation to represent the tourism industry from 1 April 2012.

The move was confirmed at a Special General Meeting of NZHC members yesterday (Monday 26 March).

TIA Chairman Norm Thompson says forming one organisation will strengthen tourism industry representation at the national level.

“The integrated organisation will create unified, highly focused leadership for our industry,” he says. “A strong hotel sector is vital to a thriving visitor economy. Together we can deliver even better outcomes for our members.”

NZHC Independent Chair Jennie Langley says the tourism industry is diverse but needs to speak with one voice to government.

“We can make positive changes for the tourism industry but only by working together can we shape our future. A collective approach is much stronger and more effective,” she says.

The Boards of both TIA and NZHC have separately discussed and endorsed the integration proposal.

Current members of NZHC will be integrated into TIA, with TIA providing a new dedicated hotel sector resource. The NZHC Regional Chairs will remain in place and continue to represent the interests of the hotel members in their regions. Both TIA and NZHC members will retain all the benefits and services they currently receive. Further enhancements to these will be developed in coming months.

The hotel sector is a significant contributor to tourism in New Zealand, with NZHC representing the interests of over 130 members throughout New Zealand, including international chain, large independent and privately owned hotels. NZHC members employ 11,000 staff nationally, with annual revenues of more than $866 million.

Discussions with a range of other tourism industry organisations are also underway, with a view to finding further opportunities to integrate, the two chairs say.

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