Northland Inc: Our international borders are opening, so are we ready?

Te Ūnga Mai conference delegates gather outside The Duke of Marlborough. Photo / Supplied

OPINION

As our international borders reopen to allow visitors from all over the world to explore Aotearoa New Zealand once again, we ask ourselves, are we ready? Surely it should be an exciting time as we welcome visitors after more than two years of largely having our country all to ourselves. I love sharing my place with others and have been looking forward to this, yet still, I wonder whether we are ready.

Destination readiness and destination management go hand in hand as we prepare for the future, and the visitor industry has been busy working towards this very moment.

Earlier this month Taitokerau Northland hosted almost 100 tourism professionals at the Regional Tourism New Zealand (RTNZ) Te Ūnga Mai wānanga tuatahi as part of a professional development programme designed to build the destination management capability of 31 regional tourism organisations (RTOs) from around the country. Destination management is about better management of all elements that make up a visitor experience, while at the heart of it is working together to understand what local communities want, protecting what we have and sharing the benefits of the visitor industry.

Coming together over this topic at the four-day event held at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds proved an invaluable forum where all regions could discuss their unique opportunities and challenges and learn from each other by sharing practices to apply to our own destination management journeys. Speakers from all over the world also shared their insight from as far away as Copenhagen and North America, to our own Tourism New Zealand, Tourism Industry Aotearoa, and Air New Zealand.

Northland Inc Destination general manager, Tania Burt. Photo / Supplied.

Delegates were also treated to experiences at the Treaty Grounds, Hundertwasser Art Centre, Wairau Māori Art Gallery and The Duke of Marlborough. The reaction to these experiences was a good reminder that Taitokerau Northland is still relatively undiscovered and has plenty to offer to surprise and delight visitors to our region, whether they be from New Zealand or from across an ocean or two.

While this event brought much-needed direct investment into the region, the learning outcomes and turning inspiration into action will be what creates a lasting impact.

So as we open our country up once again, our preparation checklist looks something like this - open our international doors – check, remind international visitors why they should choose to visit the stunning Taitokerau Northland region – in progress, share the story of caring for our place – ongoing (thanks Air New Zealand for super-charging this message with your new inflight safety video 'Tiaki & The Guardians'), and finally, welcome visitors back from all parts of the world – almost.

During the wānanga at Waitangi, I was honoured to join some of our local leaders working on behalf of the visitor industry and speak on a variety of topics. During one of these moments, while sitting on a panel discussing what the return of international visitors may bring, we were each asked two questions - what is the one word that fills you with the most hope? And what is the one word that fills you with the most dread about what lies ahead? My answer to both was opportunity. In the case of hope, the opportunity to do better and to be better than before. And in the case of dread, that we squander that opportunity.

So, the opportunity here is to not let the anticipation of the long-awaited border opening fill you with dread, but rather with hope that together we can invite visitors back with open arms, while still looking after what we treasure in our region. That we can work together in our communities to

make sure that the future stays bright for us all, whatever may lie ahead as we embark on this new journey of reconnecting with the world.

Taitokerau Northland's Destination Management Plan 2021 was co-created in partnership and is a plan for the region to contribute to the future of the visitor industry for the betterment of all. Read more at northlandnz.com/destination-management.

Tania Burt is GM Destination at Northland Inc, the region's Economic Development Agency