Skål International Auckland held another memorable Working Lunch in May, in the historic ‘The Libraries at The Hotel Britomart in Auckland’s downtown Britomart precinct.

Surrounded by layers of history, art & design, the venue matched the vibrant presentations from 2 of NZ Media & Entertainment (NZME)’s senior media and creative team members, Graham Dolan, Group Creative Director and Sandy Kilgour, NZME’s Senior Media Specialist, the well-known face of NZME to many in the travel and tourism sector. 
 
NZME is New Zealand’s largest multi-media company and their theme “Advertising Explained in Five Curious Quotes’ was a fun and informative look at the direction advertising was taking now with examples from recent campaigns for e.g. Tourism Fiji’s ‘Married at First Flight’ and ‘Visit Nebraska’. 
 
Attendees were also spoilt with a fantastic raffle prize of an NZME Voucher for up to $800 of advertising.
 
Looking ahead, Skål International Auckland’s next event will feature an evening at the Stardome Observatory and Planetarium on Thursday 11th June from 5.30-7.30pm.
Celebrating Matariki Month, the event will be themed ‘Matariki - A night of Stars’ and marks the Māori New Year (Te Mātahi o te Tau), signalled by the reappearance of the Matariki star cluster (Pleiades) in the winter sky (June/July). An RSVP link will be available shortly. All are welcome

• President Prasheel Churi Sebel Auckland Manukau Hotel With Guest Presentators, Sandy Kilgour & Graham Dolan Both NZME
• Renee Goodsell Tomahawk, Rochelle Gray Cooper & Company, Gaye Wood Regency Tourism & Sarah Porter Wild Earth Travel Niue Tourism
• Rochelle Gray Cooper & Company, Clinton Farley The Hotel Britomart, Renee Goodsell Tomahawk
• Sean Slattery and Michelle Geale, Accor Hotels

A steady stream of consumers parted with cash to attend The Auckland Travel Show over the weekend. They ranged from researchers planning their next holiday to those who booked on the spot.

• Samantha Martin, Paul Dymond and Caroline King, Wendy Wu Tours
• Manuela Nielsen, New Caledonia Tourism and Julie Cassin, GLP Hotels / Promenade Tours
• Alka Thapar, Uniworld
• Taking the bookings: Carolyn Hedley, Helloworld Westgate & Takapuna; Shaun Muller, Helloworld head office; Tony Page, Helloworld Orewa; Vikas Sarin, Helloworld Auckland CBD
• On the Malaysia stand – Amaan Khan, Total Holiday Options and Balljid Kour, Tourism Malaysia
• New MH account manager Ryan Woodford-Kelf with Anis Rosland, Ian Herald on the Malaysia Airlines stand
• Lance Andrews and Steve Parker were all smiles on the Viking Cruise stand

Showing-off theming capabilities for incentive groups and other business event clients, was a key for a JW Marriott Auckland function this week.

Ash & The Chocolate Factory (starring associate director of sales, Ash Eslamy with a supporting task of ‘oompa loompas’ from the hotel’s executive management team) featured lollipops, mushroom seats, chocolate cocktails, a pervading shade of blue, golden ticket lucky draws and more.

The hotel’s seven metre LED screen was on display as was savoury and sweet fare from the food and beverage team.
‘This is a glimpse of what we can achieve when we come together,’ Eslamy told the audience of corporate agents and conference and incentive organisers. ‘Imagination provides the spark, the execution makes it unforgettable.’

• Gordy Bayne, ShowPoni; Nicky Wallace and Haylee McPherson, both Motive Events
• Karen Wolmarans, TAG; Ash Eslamy, JW Marriott Auckland; Abby Loader, Tourism New Zealand; Lori Collins, JW Marriott Auckland
• Caroline Henty, BCD Travel; Irene Edwards, JW Marriott Auckland; Abby Maire, CD Event Management
• Leigh Morgan, Clare Adams, Eventmergers; Helen Rhind, Jodie Burnard; Showponi

Travel’s ‘clear-run’ for the consumer dollar may be over, says Chris Hunter, general manager at Helloworld New Zealand, with other sectors coming back into focus as the economy recovers. ‘Demand for things like whiteware and cars will be coming back. However, the great news is that the interest in international travel is still incredibly high.’

His comments came at Helloworld’s preferred suppliers appreciation function this week – now one of the regular events on the industry’s new year calendar in Auckland.

He says overall HLO is expecting another strong year in New Zealand. ‘We are getting out of recession and we’re seeing a good economic recovery.’

Hunter notes that that HLO has a brand campaign in market now and advises that tactical activity will kick in during the next couple of months.

He says Helloworld is ‘definitely back into corporate travel’; with the 100% purchase of BCD as we well as Gilpin Travel.

John Willson, GM of First Travel Group, put his Travel Agents Association of New Zealand (TAANZ) board member hat on, saying the organisation has talked about its relationship with suppliers – something it wants to strengthen further when it comes to the governance side of the industry.

• Stu Jones, Air New Zealand; Emily Fernandes, Adventure World; James Leslie, Air Canada
• Robyn Galloway, Innovative Travel; Chris Hunter, Helloworld; Mike van Beekhuizen, Kiwi Travel Insurance; Leanne Cheesman, United Airlines
• Emma Robertson, GO Holidays; Heather Gallagher, Avis Budget Group; Jane Jones, GO Holidays
• Michael Boardman, Emirates; Simon Amos and Megan Armstrong, Sabre
• Selina McGowan, Cover-More; Gareth Waddington, GO Holidays; Kim Sinclair, Emirates
• Daniel Wright, Tourism Australia; Fergus Clark, Helloworld; Sam Cameron, Melissa Brooks, both Destination NSW
• Jack McGarry, Q Card; Shaun Muller, Helloworld; Jason Martin, Latitude Gem Visa; Sid Mahida, My Travel Group
• Megan Hornblow, Globus family of brands; Dani Enes, Oceania Cruises; Rhiannon Grieve, Travel & Co