​New Advisory Board and Head of Destination appointments

Tourism Central Otago’s Destination Development and Marketing manager Anthony (Antz) Longman took up the reigns in a new role of Head of Destination as of Monday 21 November. This replaces the existing General Manager Tourism role as Tourism Central Otago activates their work streams guided by the recently released Central Otago Destination Management Plan.

Dylan Rushbrook retains oversight of the Tourism team within his new role of Group Manager Community Vision as part of a new-look Executive Leadership Team at the Central Otago District Council. Dylan has picked up a much wider strategic portfolio of community-focussed activities within Council.

“I am excited about the future of tourism and our for our communities here in Central Otago with Antz taking up this exciting newly defined role to lead our tourism team and the activation of the Destination Management Plan priorities,” said Dylan.

In addition to the internal Tourism Central Otago changes, five appointments to the new Destination Advisory Board have also been confirmed in the last week. These are:

Tara Druce

Tara is a staunch advocate for a sustainable and regenerative tourism sector led by innovation and insight. Based in Alexandra, Tara is the Director of Business Growth and Sustainability for Business South Inc. overseeing the delivery of government contracts in business, workforce and youth development. She is a ministerial appointee to the Otago Conservation Board and a previous chair. She has a background working in public policy and research and, in recent years through her consulting business, has offered professional services in community, tourism and business planning, managing projects at local, regional and national levels.

Chris Roberts

Chris is a business consultant offering strategic advice to New Zealand and international clients. He held the position of Chief Executive of Tourism Industry Aotearoa from 2014 – 2022, and prior to that held executive roles with Tourism New Zealand, New Zealand Oil & Gas Ltd, and Transpower. He holds a number of current governance roles and was previously on the board of Ngā Haerenga NZ Cycle Trail Inc. Chris is widely recognised for his leadership, communication and political skills.

Shayne Forrest

Shayne is an existing Central Otago Tourism Advisory Board member with family connections to Alexandra having grown up there. He is the General Manager of Tourism at Hobbiton™ Movie Set and has a track record of developing and implementing innovative business strategies. He is a previous winner of the Young Tourism Export Council Excellence Award and the New Zealand Tourism Award for Emerging Tourism Leader.

Mark Frood

Mark is the current Central Otago Tourism Advisory Board Chair. He is an independent business consultant, is acting General Manager Tourism and Events at Great South and is a Board member of Eat New Zealand. He has had an extensive international career with success in the aviation, tourism travel and trade sectors.

Tamah Alley (CODC Elected Member)

Tamah is a second term Councillor at CODC. Together with her husband and three children, she believes that Central Otago requires a voice for growing families to ensure Central Otago remains progressive, innovative and affordable. Formally a police constable, she is passionate about enabling positive outcomes for communities, both urban and rural. Environmental sustainability coupled with economic viability and development are those things that she believes are important to successfully grow a region in a way that retains the values of why people live there.

Three additional roles are yet to be appointed to complete the make-up of the full Board. These are a co-opted seat for a Kāi Tahu representative, a Central Otago tourism operator – owner or manager and a youth seat (18 – 30 years). Looking to the future there will also be an intern role established to provide experience and knowledge for a secondary school tourism student. Although the intern role will not have voting rights they will participate in discussions and provide their point of view.

The first meeting of the new board will take place in early 2023, when the existing Tourism Advisory Board will be dis-established.

“It is incredibly exciting to be able to announce these confirmed names for the inaugural Destination Advisory Board roles,” said Antz. “It really validates and confirms that the extensive amount of research and work that has gone in to developing the Destination Management Plan for Central Otago is widely regarded as leading edge. To have the input from this group of people who are innovative thought leaders and passionate about the way that tourism develops for the betterment of communities is something myself and the team are really looking forward to.”

“We have absolutely benefitted from having a Tourism Advisory Board in place, particularly over these last few years as we transitioned through a period where so much was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. I personally want to thank each and every Board member for their significant input and efforts towards helping get the strategic actions of the Tourism Strategy 2018 – 2028 delivered much earlier than originally thought possible. With the adoption of the Destination Management Plan to replace the Tourism Strategy, our advisory board members agreed that the Board structure be changed to better reflect and fit the needs for the future vision for tourism in Central Otago.”