Ruapehu i-Site manager Kim Treen elected to national board

Ruapehu i-Site manager Kim Treen brought the national i-Site conference to her district in 2017. Photo / Supplied

Ruapehu i-Site manager Kim Treen has been elected to the Visitor Information Network board, which administers and promotes i-Sites nationally.

She has a three-year term on the Tourism New Zealand body.

"Kim's election by her peers recognises her leadership in championing and promoting the role i-Sites can play in adding value to local economies and progressive thinking on their future," Ruapehu District Mayor Don Cameron said.

Treen has overseen the permanent Ruapehu i-Sites at Taumarunui and Ohakune. They have made an increasingly important contribution towards the support of Ruapehu tourism operators and the district's wider economy, Cameron said.

"This has included partnering with the Department of Conservation and NZ Army Museum to deliver i-Site services in innovative ways, securing the 2017 national i-Site conference, increasing operator and i-Site revenue growth, and pivoting i-Site resources in support of Covid-19 recovery efforts amongst other things."

Treen's election was another example of the national leadership role shown by the council's tourism entities, and followed on from the work of Visit Ruapehu in destination management and regional visitor development plans, Cameron said.

He had no doubt that Treen's seat at the Visitor Information Network board table would benefit Ruapehu tourism and its operators. Her involvement at a strategic level and at a time when Covid-19 was putting pressure on the tourism sector would be invaluable, he said.

Treen said she felt proud to have been nominated and voted onto the board by her peers, and to represent the Ruapehu district.