Mrs Munro is stepping down as general manager of the regional tourism organisation to lead Inflite Group’s Mackenzie operations. Inflite Group is a New Zealand-owned scenic flight and skydive operator, and Mrs Munro will be managing its Mt Cook Ski Planes & Helicopters and Skydive Mt Cook businesses.
Mrs Munro said having experienced the difficulties Covid-19 brought to the tourism sector, she was looking forward to being involved with Inflite as it started to rebuild and revive its operations. She had not been planning to leave Tourism Waitaki, but the opportunity at Inflite was "brought to my attention".
Mrs Munro has a connection with the Mackenzie district, having spent 10 years as general manager of Earth & Sky, now known as Dark Sky Project, in Tekapo, before taking on the role with Tourism Waitaki.
"I look forward to returning to the Mackenzie to look after Inflite’s iconic and historic attractions," she said.
Mrs Munro said she had enjoyed playing a part in the growth of Waitaki’s popularity and awareness. Domestic tourism numbers and spend in the district had grown after the first Covid-19 lockdown.
"It’s been pleasing to see the profile of the Waitaki lift, and the domestic visitor economy grow under my watch," she said.
"I believe we’ve got it to a really good place now — it is better than when I arrived here."
The past two years had been challenging for all industries, but the impact of Covid-19 on tourism, in particular, had been "catastrophic".
"But the saving grace was that New Zealanders travelled once they could — and we saw that here, and to be fair, we didn’t really suffer perhaps as much as some of our neighbours because we’ve never been so heavily reliant on just the international market. It’s been a well-balanced tourism economy in the Waitaki."
Waitaki’s destination management plan was "weeks away" from being presented to the Waitaki District Council, and having that "pretty much ticked off" was another highlight of her time in the district.
The announcement of Mrs Munro’s departure comes just over a month after it was revealed the council’s draft economic development strategy proposes dissolving Tourism Waitaki and creating a new agency for economic development.
The new agency would take a different approach to delivering tourism, and Mrs Munro hoped it did not "get layered in more bureaucracy" and disable tourism development.
"There’s always a risk of that happening when you’re adding in layers of other priorities within the same group," she said.
Mrs Munro’s last day at Tourism Waitaki is August 26.
Tourism Waitaki chairman Mike McElhinney wished Mrs Munro all the best for her new role at Inflite Group.
"We’d like to acknowledge the great work that she’s done under some pretty trying circumstances in the Covid years," Mr McElhinney said.
"It’s been a good job all round that her and the team have done."
A Tourism Waitaki board meeting was scheduled for next week, where Mr McElhinney will be having discussions with Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher and council chief exective Alex Parmley about the future of the regional tourism organisation.
