Monday night was the AGM and networking event for East Auckland Tourism - one of the local community organisations I volunteer my governance skills and experience.
We were hosted by Turanga Creek who hold weddings and events, an incredible venue in East Auckland that provides the whole package - great food, wine and location. Owner and operator Rochelle gave us a great overview of the venue as well as being an amazing host for the evening.
Annual general meetings can be a dry, formal event but this was really enjoyable. I’m really proud of what we’ve achieved over the last year. It’s been a tough few years for businesses, especially those who rely on tourism and hospitality so it was good to reflect on our successes.
We’ve invested heavily in our website and digital promotions, bringing East Auckland to a wider audience, together with practical suggestions for things to do, while our new map is providing visitors with an up to date guide to the region. Despite the challenges we’ve managed to pull off some events, including an activation linked to our growing Art Trail. And we’ve partnered with expert providers to create specialised tours of the area that has brought new people into the region.
We heard from both Jacqui Wilkinson from White Glove Experiences and Ceillhe Sperath from TIME Unlimited Tours who provided some great insights into tourism in East Auckland.
As treasurer, I spoke to our financial performance which was solid and set us up nicely for the new year. I was proud to announce our increased budget for the year, thanks to the gracious support of Auckland Unlimited, Howick Local Board and Franklin Local Board. With this extra funding we can supercharge our efforts to grow tourism and support local businesses in meaningful and practical ways.
It was also great to network with others and see local businesses owners connecting with others. Another big lesson from the pandemic has been the importance of buying local and based on the conversations last night, we can expect to see more local partnerships!
