Bringing Queenstown’s secret back home

Some Toi Ohomai students are fundraising for a trip to Queenstown. Back, from left: Jessie Bidois, Massey Laing, and Andre Dorofaeff. Front, from left: Rhiannon Dadley and Ripeka Daniels. Photo: Ryan Wood.

A group of students at Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology are busy raising the last few funds they need for a trip to Queenstown.

The Diploma in Tourism and Travel students have planned the trip of their own accord, in order to better understand the thriving tourism market.

Although the September 18 trip isn't part of the course curriculum, the students think it would provide invaluable experience, giving them a taste of one of the industry's hotspots – ‘the tourism hub of New Zealand', as student Massey Laing puts it.

'It's definitely an educational trip,” says classmate Rhiannon Dadley. 'We decided on it at the start of the course, and have been fundraising since then.”

Raffles and sausage sizzles have been the bread and butter of their fundraising so far, but they still need around $1000 to get them over the line. On Thursday they're holding a carwash at Toi Ohomai's Windermere campus between 11am and 1pm – and at $5 a pop, it's a real bargain for anyone who wants to freshen up their vehicle.

The week-long trip will allow the students to meet with different tourism operators and see how the market works down there. They hope to bring some of the knowledge and skills back to Tauranga, which has a reputation for drawing in a lot of cruise ship passengers – who promptly board buses and head to Rotorua.

All of the students agree that needs to change, and are passionate about the idea of more tourists staying in this city.

'The aim is to bring more people and travellers to Tauranga, and set our region up as a tourist destination, which in turn will hopefully bring more employment and income into the region,” says student Jessie Bidois.

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1 comment

Bring the mountains and lake with them...

Posted on 07-09-2017 10:31 | By jed

Queenstown is geographically blessed . Tauranga has some nice beaches, not much else. Meaning we need to develop attractions on top of this.


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