Experts serve up breakfast insight

Experts serve up breakfast insight

New Zealand tourism operators attending TRENZ 2015 (17-20 May, Rotorua) will have an opportunity to get insight from an international expert into successfully accessing the complex Chinese social media landscape.

The presentation from Ken Hong, Commercial Operations Manager at Weibo, one of China’s most influential social media channels, is part of the TRENZ 2015 Auckland Airport Breakfast Speaker Series.

“The early morning Auckland Airport Speaker Series is designed to kick-start the TRENZ day with stimulating and informative presentations on a range of tourism topics from New Zealand and international experts, with time for networking,” says Chris Roberts, Chief Executive of the Tourism Industry Association New Zealand which manages TRENZ.

“It’s a great opportunity for the 290 New Zealand tourism operators exhibiting at TRENZ to maximise the value they get out of the four-day event.”

Norris Carter, Auckland Airport’s General Manager Aeronautical Commercial, says this year’s speaker series has drawn together some of the industry's leading voices to discuss new research, insights and learnings.

“The goal of the series is to impart critical industry information so that New Zealand tourism operators can be even better equipped to sell their products and services offshore.

"This year we have assembled two speakers for each breakfast session who will address a diverse range of topics. These include social media, technology and its effect on the tourism industry, hospitality trends and patterns, air services and growth projections, as well as visions for the development of New Zealand tourism into the future," says Mr Carter.

Speakers:

Monday 18 May

Norris Carter, General Manager Aeronautical Commercial, Auckland Airport is responsible for the sustainable growth of the vital air services and markets that fuel New Zealand tourism and trade. Norris will delve into New Zealand’s largest airport’s tactics and strategies for successful route development.

Brad Burnett, General Manager Hotels and Tower, SKYCITY Group will address some commonly misplaced beliefs about seasonality and its impact on tourism. Brad is passionate about delivering results in this buoyant tourism market and making the most of the opportunities that exist.

Tuesday 19 May

Jim Boult, Chairman Tourism Growth Partnership (TGP), has been involved with the tourism industry for 33 years. The TGP is a government initiative which is investing in projects to grow the tourism industry. Jim’s session will discuss TGP funding – what’s available, who’s eligible and the process for getting funding.

Chris Roberts, Chief Executive, TIA will provide an update on the tourism industry’s Tourism 2025 growth framework, which aspires to almost double annual tourism revenue to $41 billion by 2025.

Wednesday 20 May

Jugdeep Bal is Senior Director and Head of Business Development for TripIt & ExpenseIt at Concur. TripIt is responsible for one of the world’s most successful travel organising tools, with over 10 million users worldwide. Jugdeep will tell New Zealand tourism operators how TripIt can benefit them and their customers.

Ken Hong, Weibo’s Commercial Operations Manager, will discuss social media from a Weibo user’s perspective and pay particular attention to what the social media environment looks like in China now. He will also discuss how this has changed over the past couple of years and what this means for Kiwi tourism operators.

ends

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