Go with Tourism: Over 100 companies sign up to NZ’s first tourism digital campaign

According to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), the tourism industry in New Zealand is forecast to grow to 5.21 million visitors by 2024.

New Zealand’s first ever tourism skills campaign, Go with Tourism, will be launched in Auckland on Friday 5 April, by Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED). Over 100 companies in Auckland have already signed up to the new Go with Tourism digital campaign, which aims to encourage and facilitate more young people taking up career opportunities in the tourism and hospitality sector. It is part of ATEED’s Destination AKL 2025 strategy, the purpose of which is to get NZ’s key gateway city ready for the forecasted increase in visitor numbers and tourism growth by the year 2025.

Hospitality NZ has been a key participant in the campaign’s steering group. The association is proud to support Go with Tourism, and delighted with the opportunity the new tourism skills campaign provides to show NZ’s next generation of hospitality and tourism professionals the benefits and rewards of working in the industry. It is the first dedicated tourism skills campaign of its kind to operate in New Zealand. While Go with Tourism will focus initially on the Auckland market, there is potential for the campaign to be rolled out nationwide.

The purpose of the campaign is to provide a solution that fits the demand for employment opportunities from young people, alongside the demand for skilled and experienced workers to fill positions in the hospitality and tourism sectors, and in turn to prepare for the tourism growth in Auckland by 2025.

Commenting on the launch of Go with Tourism, Hospitality CEO Vicki Lee said: “Hospitality NZ is delighted to have this chance to let young people know about the benefits a career in hospitality and tourism can offer them. We want to share with them that a career in hospitality can offer real opportunities for growth and job satisfaction. We also want to ensure that hospitality and tourism operators can find employees with the right skills, experience and attitude to help their businesses grow and thrive. For New Zealand to remain a world-class tourism destination, and for tourism to grow sustainably; the talent pool and the quality the industry can offer must also grow in line with our increased popularity and visitor numbers.”

Lee added: “Our message to young people is, whether you want opportunities that offer progression, creativity, prospects, travel, or the chance to be an entrepreneur someday; working in the hospitality industry can satisfy all of that and more.”

According to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), the tourism industry in New Zealand is forecast to grow to 5.21 million visitors by 2024. By 2025, Auckland is expected to see a 38 per cent increase in overnight guests, a 26 per cent increase in international students, and a 58 per cent increase in annual international visitors. The city is also expected to see an extra 18,000 tourism-related job openings by 2025 and a 27 per cent increase in Aucklanders employed in the tourism sector.

Tourism is New Zealand’s fastest growing industry. Since accommodation, food and beverage businesses are the backbones of New Zealand’s tourism industry, the hospitality industry is a natural partner for a tourism skills campaign. Hospitality NZ member and key hospitality operator SkyCity are among the potential employers that have already expressed support for the campaign, and an intention to help connect potential hospitality and tourism employees with opportunities that can set them on the right path to a career in the industry.

Go with Tourism aims to open up tourism career and training opportunities to more young people. It also plans to showcase the development, job satisfaction and opportunities that working in the tourism and hospitality sector can offer young people. This will be achieved through the launch of the Go with Tourism digital platform, alongside the Job Connector, which will allow tourism and hospitality employers to connect directly with young people with an interest in working in the industry.