MEDIA RELEASE

27 February 2008

Award-winning researcher sees potential for Waikato tourism

A tourism researcher who’s looking into the feasibility of building a Te Aroha Mountain cable way has been awarded Waikato Management School’s Dean’s Award for Outstanding Emerging Scholar.

Dr Anne Zahra impressed the judging panel with the depth of her tourism research, her publications and the external recognition she receives from industry and government organisations.

Zahra has carried out an investigation of tourism issues and opportunities to facilitate tourism development in the Waikato region for the regional development agency, Katolyst; contributed to the development of the New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2015 and undertaken research on behalf of the Ministry of Tourism and Local Government New Zealand.

She is also the author of A Guide to Law for Tourism and Hospitality Students which is in its third edition.

“It’s interesting to get around the region and mix with people in the industry – more than a hundred people participated in the Katolyst Waikato Tourism project,” says Zahra. “The project led to the formation of a tourism group for Cambridge/Te Awamutu to try and co-ordinate their tourism activities, and hopefully it will lead to a strategic plan for tourism in the Waipa District.”

Zahra says work like that is satisfying and she sees other tourism opportunities in the region. “The Mt Te Aroha feasibility study for Te Aroha Enviroed Ltd is just one indicator of the untapped tourism potential in this region.”

Zahra says she will put the $2,500 award towards her research, which also includes tourism and hospitality education, what people mean when they talk about hospitality, and volunteer tourism.

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