Golden summer for visitors sees record hotel occupancyOccupancy at Auckland hotels reached a record high in what has been described as a golden summer for tourism. Figures released by Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (Ateed) show hotel occupancy reached new levels with domestic and international visitors increasing the occupancy rate to 83 per cent for the year ending February. An additional 77,000 hotel rooms were sold in the year ending February compared with the previous 12 months. These additional rooms, coupled with an increase in room rates, resulted in $27.9 million more spent on Auckland hotel rooms compared with the previous year. Read more here.
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Te Arawa appoints financial expert as new CEOTe Arawa Group Holdings (TAGH) has appointed Colleen Neville to be its new chief executive officer. TAGH is the commercial arm of Te Pumautanga o Te Arawa Trust (TPT), and is charged with creating inter-generational wealth for the benefit of its shareholders. Ms Neville has held the role of
chief financial officer for TAGH since 2011, and was the acting chief executive for six months prior to the appointment of Ian Boyd in October 2013. Prior to this, she has held key financial roles with a range of organisations connected with TAGH's priority investment sectors. Read more here.
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Stats NZ launches new info tool for SMEsStatistics New Zealand has launched a new section on its website aimed at helping small business find information about their competitors and target markets. The small business toolbox gives people access to information that was largely already available on the Statistics NZ website but was often difficult to find. People wanting to start or grow a business can look for financial details of the industry in their area or use it to pinpoint which locations might be fertile ground for a business. Read more here.
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222 years of Māori in AustraliaNew Zealanders in Sydney are preparing for celebrations this week to mark a milestone of Māori history in Australia. Māori have had a long association of trade, migration and heritage with Australia since 1793.
In that year two Northland ancestors arrived in Sydney after being kidnapped by the British.
The following years saw Māori establish a strong economy of trade with New South Wales, enabling the survival of the fledging colony.
But the manager of Kotahi Tourism, Hohepa Ruhe, who is based in Sydney, says trade between the two countries started from very humble roots. "For a start, the two men in question who started this whole journey for Māori in 1793 were Tuki Tahua and Ngāhuruhuru," Mr Ruhe said. Read more here.
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Māori heritage helps China Southern execBlair Haeata says his Māori heritage has helped him fit into marketing roles at a number of Chinese businesses, including his latest job at China Southern Airlines. "I love Chinese culture because it's very whanau- oriented. Family orientation is how I grew up," said Haeata, marketing and commercial manager for the Guangzhou-based carrier in New Zealand. Haeata grew up in Masterton and was raised by his grandparents before moving to Auckland. There he lived with other relatives before becoming a Mormon missionary in Taiwan, where he learned Mandarin. It was life changing. Read more here.
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Cruise stats show Tauranga appealThe number of cruise ships visiting Tauranga has increased by more than 900 per cent over the past decade, with another bumper season coming to an end next month. Eighty-three cruise ships docked in the Port of Tauranga this season, compared with only eight in the 2004-2005 season. Tauranga is also New
Zealand's busiest tour port, meaning it sells a higher number of passenger tours than any other port in the country, Tourism BOP head of marketing and communication Kristin Dunne said. Tourism BOP estimated the value of cruise passengers to the local area to be between $40 million-$45 million per annum. Read more here.
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