Following the welcome news of New Zealand’s move to level one, Go with Tourism has announced it will sponsor tourism
businesses and education providers to participate in its careers expo events this August and September, delivered in
partnership with New Zealand Careers Expo.
In response to the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on New Zealand’s tourism industry, the Go with Tourism Expo,
which saw more than 10,000 students in attendance at its inaugural event last year, will focus on breaking down the
stigma that surrounds tourism careers.
Recent results of an independent study on Go with Tourism has shown that one-in-three Auckland youth surveyed are
interested in pursuing tourism as a career – a drop from 2019, which was one-half.
Go with Tourism Programme Director, Matt Stenton, says that the Expos will highlight the wide range of quality career
opportunities within the sector. “Without a doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly hurt New Zealand’s tourism
workforce and has negatively impacted people’s perceptions on tourism as a career.
“However, this was a once-in-a-lifetime event. In three- or five-years’ time we expect New Zealand tourism to thrive
again and new talent will be highly sought after. Now is the perfect time to show students what success can look like in
tourism, to place them into tourism businesses for work experience, and to get them training towards their career
goals.”
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, tourism was New Zealand’s number one export industry and was in need of 40,000 new
tourism workers by 2030 to keep up with demand from increasing international visitor numbers.
Go with Tourism was launched in 2019 to build New Zealand’s tourism workforce, featuring a game-changing job connector
platform and exciting initiatives to educate the public on the wide range of career options available and positives of
working in tourism. However, when COVID-19 hit in March this year, Go with Tourism pivoted its service to help redeploy
displaced tourism workers into new industries.
Stenton promises the Expos are one of several initiatives that Go with Tourism will start working on again to educate
the public about tourism careers.
New Zealand Careers Expo Director, Mark Gillard, says the 2020 expos will be a great opportunity to find guidance on
career changes and influence student choices. “Given the many new initiatives from government aimed at stimulating the
employment market and providing incentives for individuals to train in various industry sectors, our careers expos are
perfectly timed to connect providers and programmes with groups and individuals.”
Details of the joint New Zealand Careers Expo / Go with Tourism Expos are:ASB Showgrounds, Auckland – 6-8 AugustClaudelands Showgrounds, Hamilton – 23-24 AugustTSB Arena, Wellington – 4-5 SeptemberHorncastle Arena, Christchurch – 10-12 September
To register for a stall at a Go with Tourism Expo please visit the Eventbrite registration page for Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington or Christchurch or email kiaora@gowithtourism.co.nz
For more information on the New Zealand Careers Expo, please visit careersexpo.org.nz.