Te Taru White: Chief Executive, Te Puia
What made you choose a career in tourism?
Over the last 20 years I’ve had a strong desire to focus on my culture. I’ve always had a genuine interest in ensuring it is presented in the best possible way. During my journey, the offer was made to be the Kaihautu, the joint leader of Te Papa. The role meant that I could be part of visitor experiences that articulated Maori culture in an authentic way and at the same time engage with the more sophisticated traveller.
How long have you had a career in the industry?
I was born in Rotorua - in the hub of tourism! My tourism career began at Te Papa Tongarewa about nine years ago.
As the Kaihautu, I was fully engaged in the cultural leadership of Te Papa. I had a great time in my career there. The time came to move on and the role at Te Puia came up. It’s close to home and I get to work with my people. I am now very much part of the industry for example I am on the Rotorua tourism board. It’s a wonderful place to be to try to influence cultural interchange.
How many people do you employ?
I employ 55 full time staff, 10 seasonal staff and, indirectly through concert parties and other contractors, around another 50 people. From a social, cultural, economic and spiritual perspective, Te Puia is a significant contributor to the social good and wellbeing of the area. Our job is building cultural capital.
How do you help your staff build their career and progress in the industry?
We take every opportunity to up-skill our staff in areas such as report writing, critical thinking, computer development skills, hospitality, customer service and general knowledge.
We organise training around our rosters on-site and at the local polytechnic. Te Puia is a great supporter of the numeracy literacy programme run by Department of Labour and others. We work closely with the local polytechnic to ensure it offers the kinds of training programmes locatl tourism employers need.
An example of a very positive outcome is one of our hygiene workers who took part in the literacy and numeracy programme. With these skills she successfully applied for a job in our retail store. She is now one of our star performers and is enrolled in advanced courses in the polytechnic. She’s a person growing stronger and looking for a bigger brighter future with advanced studies in the tourism and hospitality sector.
Training works for our people and the business. There is plenty of opportunity to progress. The unique thing about Te Puia is that staff are able to talk about their culture everyday and share it withy many local, regional and International visitors. Its a wonderful and privileged thing for a lot of people.
Te Puia has 34 staff currently working towards ATTTO's National Certificate in Tourism and Travel (Core Skills), National Certificate in Tourism (Guiding) and associated qualifications.
What has been the highlight of your career?
Simply having the opportunity to share the culture of our people, our country and our place with a range of visitors. They can make an emotional and spiritual connection with our culture and you are the facilitator of that experience. They become more informed of the uniqueness of your culture and the knowledge framework that surrounds it. Being able to lift the pride of your culture and understanding is a privilege and the highlight of my career.
What is the best part of a career in tourism?
I have been a geologist/scientist, a senior executive across a number of sectors and had my own consulting business, but tourism is a people business. Sharing our experience with our many visitors is the best part. I like to think of it as an intoxicating cultural experience for them. Often it’s is a two way experience, they open up and share their culture too.
What is the biggest challenge you've faced in your career so far?
The biggest and most exciting challenge is breaking down the walls of traditional tourism and thinking outside the box to create genuine, authentic, powerful experiences.
This takes a more open way of thinking and is the biggest challenge the industry faces. It’s an exciting challenge because it brings greater opportunities for product variation and experiences to meet the demands of a more sophisticated client.
Your visitors are going to challenge you - ask questions – they’ve often done their research before they even get here. We need to think outside the box to meet those demands.
What a great feeling when you hit those moments and see a visitor, a complete stranger come up afterwards and give you a hug – these are simple moments but some of the most powerful too. You are being valued for how you make them feel and the openness and generosity of your sharing and caring. This is the reason why I like doing what I do.
What advice would you give to young people wanting to work in tourism?
If you want to make a difference and make a connection with other people then tourism offers you the opportunity to do that. You can take the best of who you are and share that with people from all over the world.
Tourism is about building and facilitating relationships through the transfer of knowledge and experiences. When you do it graciously, it’s amazing the opportunities that come from that.
Our job in tourism is about building relationships, sharing knowledge and experiences that really make a difference in people’s lives.
Former Kaihautu for Te Papa, Te Taru White has been a Scientist, Senior Executive and Consultant with many years experience working with Maori, international indigenous groups and the private sector from both a government policy and service delivery perspective in social and economic development areas.
He has been a past portfolio Manager for the economic development section of the Ministry of Maori Development in New Zealand and coupled this with 15 years experience working with tribal groups in New Zealand. He has been a past Chairman and Trustee member of several Maori owned farming and forestry based operations. He has also held Directorships on several national and regional Boards in New Zealand.
