From Student to Office Manager & Marketer

I’m the Office Manager and Digital Marketing Manager at Waimarino Group, so I look after all the marketing and bookings for the kayak tours, the adventure park and the Education Trust.

The company culture. We’re a great group of humans and we have a big emphasis on family here. We all know that we could go away, do something else, come back and Waimarino would have a job for us.

There’s a lot of opportunities that can come from the people you know and meet. We’re a small industry and you will likely know someone from another company who can get you out on an activity or tour, and you can do the same for them. It’s like an experience exchange.

I spend a lot of time in the office, looking after the bookings for the business, working on social media, marketing and rebranding. Occasionally I get to go outside for a paddleboard at lunchtime or to help out at the adventure park.

Working with people who are passionate about the outdoors and our country was a big drawcard for me. I was supposed to study science down in Dunedin, but at the last minute decided to go and study a Diploma of Adventure Tourism Management at Queenstown Resort College instead. For the diploma, I needed to do an internship, so I did bookings for Over the Top Helicopters. After my studies I stayed there and learned more about sales and marketing. Afterwards I worked in tourism in Franz Josef, travelled, and then moved to Tauranga and got the role here at the adventure park as Office Manager.

I’d love to own my own business at some point, but at the moment I’m trying to suck up all the knowledge from everyone here and everywhere else I’ve worked.

Most people in tourism hire for attitude, not skills. So if you have a good, positive attitude and your eager to learn and show initiative, you’ll have a job at most places. You can always learn the skills on the job.