20th April 2020 By Shannon Williams | shannon@tourismticker.com | @tourismticker
The lockdown has allowed time for some autumn photography, says Paula Buchanan.
The Lowdown on the Lockdown brings you a regular take from a tourism professional exploring new ways of working, sharing what life now looks like for them and just how much Covid-19 has changed what they do.
Paula Buchanan
Highlands’ business development manager, Paula Buchanan, on making the most of being in lockdown in Cromwell and taking it one day at a time.
How have the last few weeks been for you? What was business like heading into lockdown?
Business was great heading into lockdown. I am the business development manager for groups at Highlands and our first six months of 2020 was looking incredible.
I had just had three big new wins for the business which I was very excited about, two new inbound groups from April – December and a very large incentive for end of May and June. Given we are predominately a domestic market, these three large international wins were a long time in the making and a great step forward.
For those that know me, I am always a very positive person, the last few weeks have certainly knocked the wind out of my sail!
But as a good friend reminded me, “What New Zealand has to offer (our country and our people) hasn’t changed”, and this is certainly the case for Highlands too, we will see them back when the time is right.
And how have you been settling into lockdown life?
I am enjoying lockdown life for the short term. Like everyone in our industry, life was busy so it has been nice to take some deep breaths and I am very grateful to be based in Cromwell, Central Otago.
I am working from home. During my career, I have worked from home on a number of occasions, and I am very disciplined with it, I have a room set up for my office (luckily grabbed my big screen from my desk), so I have my two screens set up!
The joys of having a four-bedroom home with just my husband Art and I rattling around (we have a large home due to the number of visitors we have in Central Otago – haha!).
PS yes in my home office I have my puffer vest on, we have snow down low on our hills today and it is cold!
What are the main priorities that you are focusing on right now?
Under the leadership of our chief operating officer Josie Spillane, we are looking at what Highlands looks like in the ‘new normal’ and how Highlands can operate in each alert level set out by our Government.
I’m also reviewing all my content to make sure it is up to date and ready to go. And all those jobs that I want to get done but never have that time to do – one being a huge tidy up of our database.
How are you communicating with your team? Do you have regular conference calls, video chats?
I am part of various Zoom conference calls. Our owner has four businesses across New Zealand, all managed by our COO Josie, so every day we have a video call with Hampton Downs, Game Over Queenstown and Auckland and of course Highlands.
I am really enjoying getting to know everyone from afar. We also have a Highlands only meeting a couple of times a week, loving seeing everyone’s faces that you take for granted you will see every day!
And how are you keeping up morale through this difficult time?
Keeping in touch with my industry colleagues, when I shifted from Auckland three years ago to take up life in Central Otago it was important for me to find a job that kept me in touch with the two industries that have been my life – tourism and the conference and incentive market.
I feel very fortunate that I work for a fantastic company and have my industry peers (and friends) still part of my life.
And also the great community of Cromwell and my colleagues, who have been so welcoming and friendly. I never thought I would live in a small town again but I am very thankful to be in Cromwell.
Can you tell us a bit about your bubble? What do you get up to in order to keep spirits up?
My bubble is just Art and me, and it is very strange for us to spend so much time together as Art works shift work and only had one weekend off every five weeks. But he is mostly working from home at the moment, and I think we are coping very well!
We exercise every day and recognise when the other needs their own time! I am also using this time to FaceTime people who are isolating on their own.
Have you got any personal goals that you are hoping to achieve while in lockdown?
I had just started at the gym before lockdown, so I have set up a weight circuit in the garage. I was meant to be a bridesmaid in October (wedding postponed) and I am 50 in January so the goal this year was all about fitness for me.
As many of you see on my Facebook I love to walk the Central Otago hills, as this is not possible during lockdown, I have been running instead. And Autumn has hit Central Otago, so taking the time to get out with my camera and capturing our local beauty – my Easter photo efforts included.
What will business look like for you once restrictions lift?
There will be many stages to this as the different levels of restrictions lift. As our prime minister has made it clear we won’t be missing any levels as we come out of alert level 4. Local domestic tourism will be an initial key focus, then the wider New Zealand as people are able to travel.
As will our commitment to the Cromwell community – Highlands is an integral part of our local community. Every year we have an Easter Egg hunt at Highlands with Easter Bunny, we have the 3,000 odd eggs so Highlands will look forward to sharing them with the community soon!
Have you got any messages of support for the industry that you would like to share?
Find the positives in each day, take one day at a time and remember the reason we work in this awesome sector is because we are passionate about tourism, our people and our country. Keep that at the forefront of your mind. Be kind and stay in touch – we have got this!
