Te Puia announces appointment of Sales Manager
New Zealand’s leading cultural tourism experience, Te Puia has appointed Patrick Tamati to the position of Sales Manager. Patrick is no newcomer to Te Puia having previously worked in a variety of roles at the iconic tourism experience over a 12-year period. Patrick’s former roles with Te Puia include guiding to marketing. A trained primary school teacher, Patrick has also worked in the education area of Te Puia when it was known at the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute.
A four-year absence from Te Puia has still seen Patrick as a key player in the local Rotorua tourism scene where he was working as marketing manager for Hells Gate and Waiora Spa. Over the years Patrick has built up an excellent network of domestic and international contacts, which he says will stand him in good stead to take Te Puia’s enhanced product offerings to the international marketplace.
Patrick’s key responsibilities will be to further develop the western markets of UK/Europe, USA and Australia. Patrick will also be responsible for the ongoing development of the South Korea market. Patrick says that developing partnerships and joint ventures will be an integral part of his role whilst ‘reintroducing himself to inbound tour operators and international wholesalers’ will also play a key part in ensuring that Te Puia is front of mind and position in New Zealand programmes. In addition to wholesaler programmes and working with inbound tour operators, Patrick will also be firmly focused on the lucrative groups, conference and incentive markets.
Of his return to Te Puia, Patrick says that his “heart bought him back to Te Puia” and he always knew that he would return. The recent multi million-dollar redevelopment of Te Puia which includes leading edge tourism technologies offer unique product propositions to take to the hugely competitive international market but at the end of the day Patrick says that the “spirit and bones of Te Puia remain the same and it is these elements which make Te Puia really special.”
28 August 2008
