Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA)’s Board of Directors has appointed a new independent chair, Dame Kerry Prendergast, for three years that commenced on the first of June 2023.
TIA Deputy Chair and head of the Board appointment committee, Fergus Brown, said he is delighted to welcome Dame Kerry’s wealth of experience as former Mayor of Wellington, previous Chair of Tourism New Zealand and former Vice-President of Local Government New Zealand to TIA at this critical juncture.
“This is an exciting time to be part of TIA. We’re about to launch a future-focused Industry Strategy, we’ve just hosted a very successful Trenz 2023, and we are moving into an election year,” he said.
The TIA is focused on enabling outstanding tourism, partnering on initiatives from the Better Work Action Plan to support our industry’s workforce, and seeing many opportunities for positive change. We look forward to benefitting from Dame Kerry’s stewardship as we move into this new phase.
Dame Kerry is excited to be taking on the role as the industry moves in a new direction.
“TIA has a long and reputable history supporting and enabling the tourism industry. I look forward to being part of gaining and recovering important industry and ensuring the many and wide benefits of tourism are understood and enabled.”
The TIA Board expressed gratitude to outgoing Chair Gráinne Troute, who is leaving TIA after her three-year term. Troute led the association through COVID-19, the reopening of international borders and the industry’s first summer of recovery.
Troute said she was honoured to have supported the industry through a challenging time. She has particularly enjoyed contributing to the industry's future through her work on the Tourism Industry Transformation Plan.
“I believe in the future of our tourism industry and its potential to impact New Zealand positively,” said Troute.
Troute added that it was a pleasure to get to know such a broad spectrum of the industry and see the positive progress made by tourism operators over the length and breadth of New Zealand, following a period of immense disruption.
