Taste of tourism sector for Southeast Asian entrepreneurs
Eight Southeast Asian entrepreneurs will be learning how New Zealand does tourism and sharing their knowledge on tourism trends in Asia with New Zealanders this week.
The tourism entrepreneurs taking in a view of Auckland from Bastion Point.
The group, hosted by the Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whītau Tūhono, is made up of leading tourism entrepreneurs from Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia and Malaysia.
That includes Tan Thi Su from Vietnam, who runs a social enterprise that supports ethnic minorities in the mountain town of Sapa; and Ammar Sharin from Malaysia, who specialises in halal travel.
“This group are doing some really exciting stuff in their home countries – everything from running eco-enterprises that pull up local people while preserving environment, to multi-sensory dining experiences in enormous, bustling cities,” says Foundation entrepreneurship director Adam McConnochie.
The delegation is part of the Foundation’s entrepreneurship programme, which supports emerging New Zealand entrepreneurs to build connections and facilitate business relationships in Asia and supports Asian entrepreneurs to build connections in New Zealand.
The programme, formally called the ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative, is supported by Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade as part of the Government’s ASEAN Strategy.
Bringing the entrepreneurs to New Zealand for industry-specific programmes is a way of building connections with the Asia region, and a way to learn from each other, says McConnochie.
“We’ve got so much to learn from Asia. The scale and dynamic nature of the region means entrepreneurs are free to experiment and learn at pace. They’re also trendsetters in terms of what they’re doing around responsible tourism and unique experiences.
“Tourists’ demands and tastes are changing, and these entrepreneurs are ahead of the curve on it.”
New Zealand can share a thing or two as well though. The group will be travelling to Auckland, Rotorua and Christchurch to meet with a number of high-profile tourism operators to discuss best practice in the industry, trends and challenges.
“There will be some good connections made over the course of a week that will help people build their businesses down the track. We’ve been working with entrepreneurs since 2012 and we see it happen time and time again,” says McConnochie.
