2nd April 2020 By Shannon Williams | shannon@tourismticker.com | @tourismticker
Zac Watson
As the country moves into a four-week lockdown in an effort to contain the spread of Covid-19, the Ticker’s Lowdown on the Lockdown brings you a daily take from a tourism professional exploring new ways of working, sharing what life now looks like for them and just how much the pandemic has changed what they do.
Zac Watson, product development manager at Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development and chair of the 2020 YoungTEC board, on adjusting to the new normal, what he hopes to take away from the lockdown, and what recovery might look like for the tourism sector.
The view from home looking over the park in Massey, West Auckland
How have the last few weeks been for you? What has the lead up to the lockdown been like?
The last few weeks have definitely been nothing any of us have seen before, let alone could have seen coming. A little over two weeks ago we were planning to launch our new and improved Auckland Ambassador Programme, as well as our next series of industry engagement events. Within days, everyone’s circumstances and situations were flipped upside down as the growing impacts from Covid-19 revealed themselves globally, nationally and then locally. For an RTO, it was about best servicing and supporting our industry, as companies and contacts began to feel the impacts, something that I am still well and truly focussed on now.
How had the work environment changed before the lockdown?
For those of us at ATEED, the lead up to lockdown was swift and efficient once we had an understanding of the enormity of the virus worldwide. Suddenly working from home permanently was reality for all staff, and weekly work-in-progress updates turned into daily virtual check-ins. I am extremely thankful to still be employed at this time, but am deeply saddened by the number of friends in the industry who haven’t been so lucky. I agree that national lockdown was the right thing to do, but it is scary to see and continually read the ever growing impact this is having on New Zealand, a country that is partially driven by our incredible visitor economy.
What kind of feedback were you hearing from members of YoungTEC?
People are scared of the unknown, so the daily changes and growing widespread impacts of Covid-19 are affecting people at all levels. YoungTEC, which is part of Tourism Export Council NZ association, provides a platform and a voice for young people in tourism. Many of our members hold the frontline roles and middle management positions of companies heavily impacted by this global pandemic. Apprehensiveness and nervousness are common feelings in our membership, and right now we are aiming to provide as much support as we possibly can, whether that be pointing members in the right direction for information, or continuing to offer our calendar of annual events but in a slightly different way.
What is your top concern for the industry following this crisis?
If I had one word to answer this I would say “recovery”. The tourism industry is incredibly resilient and we have certainly been through a lot even in the last year, however this is going to hit us like nothing else has ever before. This is strongly linked to the unknown again, and there is no silver bullet at this stage. When will people feel safe to travel again? When will some of our major international markets start to replenish? How many tourism businesses will be left standing when this blows over? All things which link strongly back to how quickly are we going to recover.
And what is your situation now? What is your work set up like?
I am lucky to have an office at home, which now includes a second screen and a comfy chair, and every now and then a cat that decides to include himself in team video meetings! I am located in beautiful West Auckland (West is best) and back onto a park, which is making daily doses of fresh air easy – I am doing my upmost to stick to daily routine.
How are you communicating with your co-workers? Have you got a daily schedule, virtual meetings, phone calls?
Daily check-ins with my immediate team are now in the calendar, and they are proving to be vital to ensure everyone is feeling okay and has everything they need to perform their roles. We have a close-knit team lead by the incredible Ness Freeman, so these have been great to boost morale if nothing else. Wider team-wise, daily emails from the CEO and senior management, as well as weekly stand-ups on a Friday have been ways for our internal teams to continue to talk to each other. For YoungTEC, we are peaking to each other on the phone a lot more now, and we have our first board meeting via Zoom in the coming weeks, which I am sure people will adjust to easily. Most of our systems are online so it has been easy for our organisations to transition to this different way of working and communicating.
What are some positives you are hoping to take away from the lockdown? And are you doing anything fun to keep up morale?
I want to continue some of the new and “re-found” habits forming in this lockdown environment. Daily yoga, which is new for me, increased focus on my fitness and I am even reading a book! Work wise, it is really forcing us to focus on what is important, what activity can be dropped, and where our gaps are. When it comes to feeding into the recovery plan for Auckland’s tourism sector, I hope to approach this with a positive mindset as it will certainly be a unique experience for me to have this early in my tourism career.
And have you got any messages of support you’d like to share?
“He waka eke noa – we’re all in this together” is something I am seeing all over, and I must say I love it not only for what it stands for, but also because coincidently it is the name of our ATEED Haka. We are an incredibly close, resilient industry and we won’t let this beat us. Stay strong everyone, reach out to others for support, and most of all look after yourself. Kia kaha.
If you’d like to contribute to our Lowdown on the Lockdown series, contact the Ticker’s Shannon Williams at shannon@tourismticker.com.
