Skyline Rotorua's new general manager is a local

Andrew Jensen is Skyline Rotorua's new general manager. Photo/Supplied

Skyline Rotorua has appointed a new general manager with the company keeping it local by employing another Rotorua man to run the award-winning tourist destination.

Andrew Jensen, 47, is Rotorua born and bred and attended Otonga Primary School, Rotorua Intermediate and Rotorua Boys' High School before studying toward a national diploma in business at Waiariki Institute of Technology (now Toi Ohomai).

The institute gave him his first break, employing him in its finance department for six years before he moved to the institute's forestry department as faculty administration manager for a further six years.

"I was looking for a change and a move to the private sector.

"An opportunity came along for Skyline in 2001 and I haven't looked back."

He started at Skyline as administration manager, moved up to assistant general manager in 2007 and is now the company's general manger.

Mr Jensen replaced another local man, Bruce Thomasen, as general manager at the start of this month after Mr Thomasen decided to concentrate on his own tourism business - The Redwoods Treewalk - after spending 17 years at Skyline.

Mr Jensen said there were a number of long-serving staff at Skyline which was a testament to how the company did business.

"We are constantly refreshing and investing into the product offering and our staff, who are our most important resource.

"The tourism industry is always changing and there's new challenges with no day ever the same - it's definitely an exciting job with its challenges.

"It's important when options to employ Rotorua people are there that we take them on, it's nice to support our local industry and community."

He does not have any plans to leave the city that's home to him, his partner and five children and there's plenty on the go up at the Skyline site on the side of Mt Ngongotaha.

"We have a couple of projects in the pipeline, one I can tell you about is the new sections and loops for our luge tracks.

"We are planning for that now with construction due to be completed November 2018.

"The idea is we want people up here for the day, so we are always refreshing our product offerings.

"We are again finalists in the [NZ] Tourism Industry Awards, so we're always looking to put ourselves forward, it also allows us to sit back and review where we came from, where we are at and where we are going," he said.