Enterprise Northland Newsletter

Welcome to the October edition of the Enterprisingly Northland newsletter keeping you up to date with the activities of Enterprise Northland

In this issue:

 Northland Economic Strategy update
 Northland HSE Centre progress
 Addressing seasonality in Northland
 Northland Iconic Works, the Northland Kauri Festival and moreâ¦
 The Whangarei International Rally
 Building Business Association capabilities

Northland Economic Strategy update
The review and update of the Strategy for the sustainable economic development of Northland is progressing well with good input from various stakeholder, business and reference groups. The final few workshops will be held in early November and the draft Strategy is taking shape.

Education - literacy and numeracy, life skills and vocational skills - remains one of the key factors limiting regional development. Other priority areas are infrastructure reliability, attracting investment and growing profitable, export ready companies.

The update will be completed by year-end.

Business and Industry
Northland HSE Centre progress
You may have heard that recent negotiations between NorthTec and the Northland Regional Council, over leasing a Commerce Street site for establishing a Health & Safety Centre, have come to an end.

The main reason for this was that it ended up being just too costly to refurbish to make it "fit for purpose" and this was then reflected in very hefty leasing costs, especially on a long-term basis.

So, for the Working Group it was back to the drawing board. Another building, located on the corner of Dyer Street and Nell Place, was quickly identified. NorthTec has secured a le

At the same time, the private sector are organising the design, construction and layout of the display sites so that the centre can open in February of next year. NorthTec are also in the process of employing both a full-time HSE tutor and a Co-ordinator for the facility.

Now that the Working Group can see the centre coming to fruition, the next major step is to talk in more detail with other manufacturing and processing sectors as to how they can take advantage of what the centre will represent i.e. an opportunity to significantly upgrade workplace safety standards in Northland.

You can find out more by calling John Halse on 09 438 5110 or emailing john@enterprisenorthland.co.nz

Destination Northland
On the subject of seasonality
Seasonality is a key issue for Northland's tourism industry - but its effects are spread across a wide range of industry sectors which also benefit from tourism.

As we approach the summer season, the tourism industry is once again gearing up for a large influx of visitors. International and domestic visitors alike, flock to the region to enjoy our subtropical climate, with days at the beach, or out on the water and more, followed by evenings spent enjoying the regions fantastic food and wine offerings. Much of this happens of its own accord during the summer season.< SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11

Of recent years we have had to contend with a strong economy and cheap international airfares, which has resulted in steady and dramatic growth in the number of New Zealanders heading overseas for their holidays. Destination Northland works on a range of marketing activities aimed at slowing or reversing this trend, however the recently launched AA Campaign provides a great opportunity to encourage New Zealander's to holiday at home, and hopefully this campaign will benefit us all in Northland.

After submitting a large number of stories for consideration, Destination Northland was thrilled to learn that eight of our stories had been selected to feature as part of the 101 Must Do's. This is the largest number of stories selected for any single New Zealand region - something to be proud of.

So what comes next? We are asking all Northlanders to rally now to ensure they have taken part in the voting process, which hopefully will take our Northland stories through to the next stage - to be televised next year.

So if you haven't already done so - please visit the AA website at www.aatravel.co.nz , from here you must register, and then you can go ahead and rate your favourite attractions - hopefully they'll be Northland based ones!

Destination Northland welcomes your enquiries on 09 402 7683 or by email at info@northlandnz.com

Major Regional Initiative
Northland Multi-Day Iconic Walk Project
Activate Northland is undertaking a feasibility study into the potential to develop 2/3 day iconic walk in the region. The study includes a detailed analysis of characteristics of successful multi-day walking trails, an assessment of the trails in Northland, an analysis of the walking options and recommendations for a preferred option for development. Six areas will be assessed; Cape

SME Business Improvement Programme
Carol Maxwell has successfully worked with 80 tourism businesses achieving excellent results. Each business has received a comprehensive capability assessment, gap analysis, access to specialist advice, training and development and one on one coaching and mentoring.

Northland Sustainable Tourism Charter Project (NSTC)
The NSTC project has assisted 35 tourism businesses to become more sustainable by incorporating sustainable business practices in daily operations. Businesses have undertaken a sustainability assessment and developed and implemented actions plans.

On Thursday 30 November Enterprise Northland will be formally reporting on activities, results and outcomes of these programmes. For more information contact Kiri Goulter on 09 438 5110 or by email to kiri@enterprisenorthland.co.nz

Kauri Festival
The Kauri Festival took place from 14 - 30 September with over 30 events held during the two weeks. Tourism New Zealand featured the festival as part of its Spring Festival Campaign into the Australian market.

The festival provides an opportunity to show case Northland's diversity and fusion of cultures. It has the capacity to engage all types of visitors, is at a perfect time of the year and can be developed and promoted as a signature event for Northland. A Kauri Festival Event Development Plan has completed and a Festival summary document will be available mid November.

A Kauri Festival Education Kit for Schools is in development. The kit will be web based and will provide kauri related resources to support the education sector's active participation in Northland forests. You can call Sheryl to discuss the Festiavl on 09 438 5110 or by email to sheryl@enterprisenorthland.co.nz

Education 4 Enterprise
The 2007 Education 4 Enterprise Gala Dinner was held recently in Whangarei. This event focuses on acknowledging, rewarding and celebrating the achievements of Northland's secondary students and schools that are involved in E4E. Many awards were made on the night, a few of the highlights follow.

Northland College took out the inaugural Enterprise Northland Trophy for Top Education 4 Enterprise activity.

Ends

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