The Board of the Young Tourism Export Council of New Zealand is delighted to announce that Zac Watson of ATEED has been appointed in the role of chair and Lilly Douglas of Tourism New Zealand as vice chair.
“It was great to meet the 2020 YTEC Board in Wellington last week and to hear how they came into the industry and their differing career paths," says chief executive of Tourism Export Council of NZ Lynda Keene.
"The calibre of the Board was impressive. Under Zac and Lilly’s leadership I can see the organisation is in very capable hands. There is a clear intent to grow the legacy and further develop business capability for future leaders of the industry. I’m looking forward to working with Zac, Lilly and YTEC Board."
Zac hales from the North West of Auckland and is one of three Auckland based board members for 2020. After completing a Bachelor of Tourism Management from Lincoln University in Canterbury, Zac returned to his home city, Auckland, and into his first tourism based role with Merlin Entertainments at Kelly Tarlton’s SEA LIFE Aquarium as the Sales Representative. This was followed by a move to the Haka Tourism Group with Haka Educational Tours as an account manager and then onto ATEED and his current role as product development manager (industry).
"I am thoroughly looking forward to continuing and adding to the incredible work of previous YoungTEC Board members by providing a platform and a voice for young people in one of New Zealand's largest and most vital industries," says Zac. "I am hugely passionate about what YoungTEC offers and fully intend to ensure we invest in the next generation of tourism professionals".
After graduating from Victoria University with degrees in both commerce and tourism, Lilly started her career in the marketing team at the Department of Conservation. She then moved to Positively Wellington Tourism (now WellingtonNZ), where she was responsible for promoting the coolest little capital to international trade. Today, Lilly is part of Tourism New Zealand’s global whƒÅnau supporting the offshore trade teams to educate international trade on how to sell New Zealand.
“It’s an honour to be in this position and I am looking forward to working with the executive team to continue building our YoungTEC community," says Lilly. We have so much talent within our tourism industry, and YoungTEC plays such an important role in developing and nurturing our young people as they navigate their career path in tourism.”
