Tāpoi Te Moananui ā Toi | Tourism Bay of Plenty is delighted to announce the appointment of its new Tumuaki | General Manager Oscar Nathan.  

Oscar has been acting Tumuaki since April and after a robust and highly competitive recruitment process has been appointed permanently to the role.

Chair of the board, Laurissa Cooney, says Oscar has been chosen for his extensive background and expertise in domestic and international tourism including roles as the head of Tourism Rotorua and Destination Rotorua respectively.

“Oscar is an incredibly strong leader with a superb reputation both within and outside the industry,” says Laurissa.

“His experience will be invaluable as we seek to galvanise the interests of stakeholders, industry and the community to achieve mutual outcomes. Oscar is known for being an approachable, on the ground communicator, with an ability to lead teams and bring strategies to life and we are extremely excited about his leadership of the team as we move into the next phase of Te Hā Tāpoi | The Love of Tourism.”

Oscar has a history of visionary thinking and delivering in tourism, having been a pivotal figure in the New Zealand industry for more than two decades. He is also a previous winner of NZ Young Executive of the Year, with an extensive consulting background and roles in the private sector as Chief Executive for Tamaki Tours, Business Advisor for Māori Business Trust Poutama, and as acting Chief Executive for Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) in Wellington.

Governance roles include the boards of Regional Tourism NZ, The Moko Foundation, Tourism Industry Aotearoa, Waiariki Institute of Technology (now Toi Ohomai), Hospitality NZ, and Te Puia | NZ Māori Arts and Crafts Institute to name a few.

His whakapapa links are Te Aupōuri | Te Rarawa in the Far North, with strong networks and experience in the Māori SME and operator spaces across the central north island and wider Bay of Plenty regions.  Along with this comes a deep interest in preserving our natural environment and resources, which perfectly aligns with the Destination Management responsibilities of the organisation, along with the New Zealand-leading regenerative tourism goals of Te Hā Tāpoi | The Love of Tourism.

“We have a regenerative strategy that so many are excited about and would like to see what this looks like in action.  With Oscar leading the incredible team we have, we look forward to collaborating with our stakeholders and host communities to bring this vision to fruition, not just for us in the Coastal Bay of Plenty, but for Aotearoa and the world to see,” adds Laurissa.

• Content supplied by Tourism Bay of Plenty.