Go with Tourism has released its second action plan from the November 2021 Workforce Wānanga – a two-day workshop which brought together stakeholders from across

New Zealand who have an interest in improving the Tourism & Hospitality workforce.

‘Action Plan 2’ identifies four key areas for the industry to focus on: partnerships, information, education and perception. These make up the categories under which 28 actionable items sit.

Go with Tourism Programme Director, Heidi Gillingham, says that the Wānanga and subsequent action plans have offered a great starting point for an industry that needed to take a good, long, hard look at itself. “It’s evident from the themes and solutions in the plan that we haven’t needed to reinvent the wheel. Instead, we’re asking our industry to do simple, well.

Many of the ideas we have outlined are very achievable and feel long overdue, so we’re in a position now where we need to get our industry back on schedule to becoming a sector of choice. This industry-led action plan is our first step towards that goal.”

The 25-page document was produced by Tourism research specialists Angus & Associates, who combed through video recordings and written content to consolidate two-day’s worth of ideas, discussions and feedback of the 108 attendees of the Workforce Wānanga.

It also follows ‘Action Plan 1’, which was released in December 2021 and focused on the four ideas chosen by the attendees during the event.

An update of the four ‘key ideas’ is provided in today’s action plan. In summary, several working groups have come together to progress their solutions, and two concepts have been presented to the Tourism Industry Transformation Plan Co-Chairs and the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment. Key contacts have been provided for each concept to encourage further collaboration.

Of these four, Gillingham is very excited by the prospect of a Tourism Accord. “The Accord will set a standard for the Tourism & Hospitality workforce that must be met and could pave the way for more solutions to be progressed.”

It is hoped the Tourism Accord will be up and running by the end of 2022 and have government support behind it.

‘Action Plan 2’ also features eight shortlisted solutions that have great potential for progression and offers suggestions on how to action them. These ideas range from cohesion between wider Tourism leadership and programmes that better connect educators and industry.

Go with Tourism encourages anyone who is interested in pursuing an idea from the plan to get in touch for an initial chat.

‘Action Plan 2’ has been shared with the wider industry and can be downloaded directly from Go with Tourism’s webpage for the Workforce Wānanga: bit.ly/WorkforceWānanga21

Written by Helen Shaw, Marketing Communications Manager