Back on track…
I can’t believe its been over a week since my last blog post - compounded by the fact that when I eventually did sit down to write I discovered I had forgotten my password. Back on track today.
Last week was one of the busiest work weeks I’ve had for years - and professionally hugely exciting.
At a client meeting on Monday I was given a tentative timeline of a week (or so) leading up to a major announcement. A phone call halfway through the meeting changed that to a longer timeline of approximately two weeks. Two days later I received a phone call to give me two days notice. I spent the next 48 hours literally hunkered down at Rotorua Airport putting all the pieces in place. At exactly 11am on Friday we went live and the phone hasn’t stopped ringing since.
So what’s all the excitement about? Rotorua Airport will be Trans Tasman by December, with Air New Zealand offering direct flights from Rotorua to Sydney, twice a week, from December 12. This is probably the single most significant development for Rotorua, its residents, its industries and the wider economy for more than a decade.
For those not so familiar with our part of the world, Rotorua is approximately two and a half hours drive from Auckland - New Zealand’s biggest city. Rotorua is traditionally the home of tourism in New Zealand - we are the cultural hub of the country, and we have been hosting tourists for more than 100 years. It is home to most of NZ’s iconic tourism attractions - Maori culture shows and dinners, gondola, Agrodome, trout fishing, a huge variety of accommodation options - the list is literally endless.
But for all Rotorua’s success as a tourism destination, it was missing the one key link that would take the local tourism industry (and thus the supporting economy) to a whole new level - an international air link. Now we have that link, the opportunities to grow and develop as a community, a city and a sector, are massive. It is that significant.
And it’s hugely exciting. Not just for Mike and I professionally, but also for us as a family. We left Auckland nearly four years ago to offer our kids a better lifestyle and environment. We have very quickly embraced everything that Rotorua has to offer and we are very passionate about the region and its potential. The future growth of the region offers even more to our children as they grow and find their own pathways. And the fact that the direct flights offer me a quick route to my best friend in Sydney is an added bonus!
So it was a huge week but massively exciting and it was a privilege to be part of it.
It did impact on training to a point - more about the when and how, as opposed to the what. The highlight of my training week was a great bunch ride on Sunday with the Tri Club - in the fog, where I could barely see the rider in front of me, but that’s a blog post for another time.
So exciting times ahead, in every way.
Tags: Rotorua