Bay tourism firm expands in US market

by Graham Skellern
A Tauranga-based tourism development company is eyeing new opportunities in the United States after linking up with a major consultancy firm.
The Department of Discovery, which specialises in creating authentic cultural experiences for tourists, has formed a joint venture partnership with Warnick + Co , one of North America's leading hospitality consultancies.
Warnick has offices in Chicago, New York, Phoenix and Los Angeles. Among its clients are Fairmont Hotels, Loews Hotels and Resorts, Agassi Graf Enterprises, Raffles Hotels and Resorts, and Mirax Group.
Andrew Te Whaiti, founder and managing director of The Department of Discovery, said Warnick brought an experienced team of tourism and hospitality professionals and totally understood the North American market.
"The partnership fits like a glove and we are lucky. They hold the same values about cultural tourism," said Mr Te Whaiti, the former chief executive of Te Puia in Rotorua.
Mr Te Whaiti said from Hawaii that his company was talking to Warnick about two new projects in the US.
He had also visited National Geographic in Washington DC to discuss opportunities.
The Department of Discovery works with indigenous tribes and encourages them to tell their stories through guided tours and other visitor attractions.
"The way we do tourism is not just looking at the economic advantage but also the social, cultural benefit for the tribes and their environment," said Mr Te Whaiti, a Tourism Bay of Plenty director.
In conjunction with Kamehameha Investment Corporation, The Department of Discovery researched local cultural stories and developed a series of tours through some of the sacred sites on Big Island in Hawaii.
The Tauranga company, which has an office in Phoenix, is also working with the Yavapai Apache tribe, based in the Sonoran Desert, to develop a cultural tourism experience.
Mr Te Whaiti gathers information from the elders and seeks their permission to tell the stories.
He is doing the same with the Mangatawa Papamoa Block Inc in Tauranga. The shareholders are presently waiting on a resource consent to build a visitor centre on their land at Te Maunga.
Mr Te Whaiti has been joined in his business by Glenn Ormsby, the former general manager of Tourism Waitaki, based in Oamaru.
Both originally from Tauranga, they worked together at Te Puia (NZ Maori Arts and Crafts Institute), where Mr Ormsby was general manager marketing.