Council appoints three tourism board members

Taupō District Council has appointed three trustees to the Destination Great Lake Taupō (DGLT) Board with the retirement of three members.

The new trustees are Andy Blair, Sue de Bievre and Kathy Guy.

Council invited applicants with a comprehensive understanding the visitor industry to put their names forward to continue to raise the profile of the Taupō District as a world-class visitor destination. Board members Michelle Caldwell, Paul Fallon and Paul Winter retired, leaving three of the six required positions open. Council is responsible for the appointment of the DGLT Board Trustees.

Ms Blair is the Business Development Manager for GNS Science in Taupō. Originally from Taupō, her previous tourism roles include Chief Executive of a skydiving operation, General Manager at Kiwi Experience Ltd, as well as serving on Tourism Lake Taupō and the NZ Backpacker Tourism Marketing Network. Ms Blair is also a current Trustee of Enterprise Great Lake Taupō.

Ms de Bievre is one of the owners of Plateau Restaurant and Bar and started Powerhouse Chartered Accountants before selling it in 2007. She has solid governance experience including serving as the chairperson of Tourism Lake Taupō and Enterprise Great Lake Taupō, and as a member of Lake Taupō Economic Development Advisory Board and the Marketing Advisory Board.

Mrs Guy is currently the General Manager for Wairakei Resort and Chateau Tongariro and a Director of scenic flight business Mountain Air. She is a former board member of the National New Zealand Tourism Board and was also chairperson of the government’s major regional tourism initiative for Ruapehu, Wanganui and Rangitikei. She is currently the regional chairperson for the New Zealand Hotel Council and a trustee for the Visit Ruapehu regional tourism organisation.

DGLT is the regional tourism organisation for the Taupō District. DGLT is responsible for marketing Taupō District to domestic and international markets with the aim of increasing visitor numbers, lengths of stay and activity involvement.