23rd April 2020 By Shannon Williams | shannon@tourismticker.com | @tourismticker
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.
Felicity Kibble
Felicity Kibble, visitor experiences marketing advisor at Napier City Council, on the value of communication, utilising social media, and the trials and tribulations of trying to home teach her nine-year-old daughter. Kibble works with nine Napier City Council-owned tourism and visitor facilities, including National Aquarium of New Zealand, MTG Hawke’s Bay, Napier Conference Centre, Kennedy Park Resort, Napier Municipal Theatre and the Napier i-SITE.
How have the last few weeks been for you? What was business like heading into lockdown?
Our businesses were heading towards the end of a successful summer and cruise season, along with a record number of events and conferences held and scheduled at Napier Conference Centre. I know all our facility managers are extremely grateful for having such a positive season leading into this unprecedented event that is affecting the world and changing business as we know it.
From a marketing and communications point of view it has been an extremely busy last few weeks ensuring we’re communicating to our visitors, members and clients not only advising of the closure of our facilities but also to offer support in any way we can. Marketing such a broad range of businesses has meant that the messaging has been tailored to meet the needs of our clients, guests and visitors for each.
I’ve also been busy rolling out daily education activities for the National Aquarium through social media. We had this all up and running on the first day of Covid-19 alert level 4 lockdown, which as a team we’re very proud of.
And how have you been settling into lockdown life?
It’s been so busy the time has flown by, to be honest. The first challenge was to ensure that I had a good spot to work from. After trialling out a few options, I’m now working from our spare bedroom to help create some separation from work and home life.
Having that separation has been challenging but important to ensure balance and general health and wellbeing. I’ve also discovered the need for a ‘working at home’ wardrobe, a new fondness for slippers and that I’m not the right personality type to be a teacher (I have a nine-year-old daughter).
All dressed up but nowhere to go on #FormalFriday
What are your the priorities that you are focusing on right now?
Firstly, communicating to our wide audience. Ensuring the various brands are still present in the market through social media and other platforms where appropriate.
This has now lead to creating a picture of the various alert levels, what it might mean for each business and what marketing initiatives can be put in place to support their individual needs. It is definitely not one size fits all, and it is challenging trying to pre-empt date ranges for each level, however, we are starting to understand what we can prepare now so it can easily be rolled out at the various stages.
I’m grateful that we have a fantastic regional tourism network with a huge amount of support and information being shared by the team at Hawke’s Bay Tourism. I’ll be working closely with them in the near future so we can work together to pick up on the successful work done in the past that will stand us in good stead for the future.
Did I mention trying to be a school teacher to my nine-year-old daughter Charlotte? This is a work in progress!
How are you communicating with your team? Do you have regular conference calls, video chats?
Regular video calls with the council comms and marketing team are a highlight! It’s amazing how much we share as a team when we’re in a physical space together, and how important these regular catch-ups are now we’re working from home.
We’ve jollied things up by having to wear something on our heads during our calls (which I continued on other video calls outside our team to much amusement!). A favourite of mine was channelling Amy Winehouse, a pirate and more recently we had #FormalFriday so I was all dressed up for the races. I’ve also been enjoying the weekly Hawke’s Bay Tourism video chats on Friday afternoons which is open to all in the industry and is a great platform to share, support and enjoy each other’s company.
And how are you keeping up morale through this difficult time?
Our themed video conference calls definitely help! We’ve also had some good news stories especially with the National Aquarium, Napier Libraries and MTG Hawke’s Bay. I’m lucky to be writing and sharing videos about the amazing animals at the National Aquarium – you can’t beat cute penguins, colourful fish and fun reptiles to boost morale so I make sure I share these stories with colleagues.
With this being a challenging time for so many, it has been amazing to see everyone pulling together, with amazing work being done by Napier City Council and across Hawke’s Bay.
Balancing work life with home life with husband Paul and daughter Charlotte
Can you tell us a bit about your bubble? What do you get up to in order to keep spirits up?
Well, in my bubble I have my nine-year-old daughter Charlotte and my husband Paul. I think we’re coping with things pretty well (apart from me being a useless teacher according to my daughter).
I’ve noticed that we’re living a slower-paced life together, no rushing to school, ballet pick-ups or racing against the clock to fit everything in. We’re keeping a bit of a photo diary of the different things we’re doing – although I have to say, my husband is doing most of them while I’m working! Am enjoying our walks and bike rides together during the week instead of trying to cram them in on a weekend.
Have you got any personal goals that you are hoping to achieve while in lockdown?
Keep that work/life balance at the right level! Make the most of not travelling an hour a day to and from work and use this time to fit more exercise in (don’t ask how that’s going right now, it’s a work in progress!). Be a better teacher for my daughter!
What will business look like for you once restrictions lift?
Different I guess, but still with the same goal in mind – providing amazing attractions and venues that are a credit to Napier and Hawke’s Bay, ultimately supporting the economic recovery of the region.
Have you got any messages of support for the industry that you would like to share?
Continue supporting each other. Share ideas, share successes and share learnings. It’s going to be a challenging 12-18 months but we have amazing products and people to help get us through and out the other side.
If you’d like to contribute to our Lowdown on the Lockdown series, contact the Ticker’s Shannon Williams at shannon@tourismticker.com.
