RealNZ chief experience officer Bridget Legnavsky will play a role in a new national group created to support tourism. 

The long-time Wānaka resident has been named as a member of the tourism Industry Transformation Plan (ITP) leadership group, tourism minister Stuart Nash announced yesterday (November 17).

“The disruption of the global Covid-19 pandemic presents an opportunity to step back and work collaboratively on a vision for tourism of the future,” Stuart said. 

“The Tourism ITP will focus on actions that all partners can take to address skills and career questions in the industry.”

The full list of ITP leadership members is yet to be confirmed but Bridget has been named alongside 12 other members and three co-chairs.

The co-chairs include Gráinne Trout, who is the chair of Tourism Industry Aotearoa; John Crocker, the national secretary of Unite Union; and Karl Woodhead, the general manager of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s tourism branch.

Bridget, formerly Cardrona-Treble Cone’s general manager, was recently promoted to the new position of chief experience officer with responsibility for all Wayfare Group experiences. 

She and the experienced ITP team’s first priorities will be skills shortages and career progression in the tourism and hospitality sector, Stuart said.

“The first stage of the ITP will focus on ‘better work’ and developing the tourism workforce,” he said.

“Like any industry, success depends on those working within it. This means investing more in people, deepening the talent pool, lifting skill levels and ultimately providing better work for those in the tourism and hospitality industries.”

The second priority for the ITP will be the environmental challenges posed by tourism, Stuart said.

That priority will build on work started by the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, the Tourism Futures Taskforce, and the NZ Aotearoa Government Tourism Strategy.

“There is a huge opportunity for all of us with a stake in tourism to support and develop different pathways for people keen on a career in the industry,” Stuart said.

He expected to receive a first draft of the ITP’s ‘Better Work Action Plan’ for tourism in the second quarter of 2022, after which the group will consult widely.

“I’m confident the ITP will transform the industry in partnership across government, business, workers and Māori. Tourism has had its challenges but I echo the Prime Minister’s recent words: he rā ki tua – better times are coming,” Stuart said.

PHOTO: Supplied