Nelson Regional Development Agency (NRDA)

This morning we hosted Minister of Tourism and Hospitality, Matt Doocey, for a Q&A session with over 50 local business owners from around the region. Questions were asked on a range of topics including bespoke alcohol licensing for events, the allocation of the International Visitor Levy, easier immigration process for businesses to attract workers and out of date DOC management plans. The Minister was keen to hear of local issues and opportunities to grow tourism sustainably and recognised the importance of cycling, mountain biking and events to Nelson Tasman to smooth out our seasonality issues, along with connectivity/reliable travel between the islands. The Visitor Economy is one of our top five industries in Nelson Tasman, with a total visitor spend of $339.3m recorded from July 23 - July 24 (Stats NZ). We're grateful for Minister Doocey's time here, and appreciate our local operators taking the time to join us. Thank you to the Rutherford Hotel Nelson for their hosting, and to Zinnia Foster (Hospitality New Zealand) and Simon Duffy (Uniquely Nelson) for their help with organising the session together. #nelsontasmannz #visitoreconomy #hospitality #tourism

It's Global Entrepreneurship Week next week and Tim Malcolm from Intepeople is giving up his lunch break on Thursday 21st November to chat with start-ups around avoiding the pitfalls of people. We know people are a company's greatest asset, but with growth the main focus for start-ups, knowing when, how and who to bring new people on can be a challenge. Join Tim at Mahitahi Colab, and bring your own lunch to learn more - this will be a very interactive session as Tim will cover off the above, and with limited spaces, we've allowed plenty of time for discussion and specific questions. We are also looking forward to talking to our community next week about our new projects we'll be kicking off for 2025. Click to book your free spot.

What a fantastic day aboard The Gleam and the Nelson Ferry! NRDA partnered with Guard Safety to deliver the Maritime Careers Day—a morning dedicated to exploring career pathways related to the maritime industry, including Port Nelson, fishing, aquaculture, and more. Local high school students experienced the stunning Nelson coastline from a unique perspective while also learning about the area's rich history. They enjoyed engaging activities on Haulashore Island, such as lifejacket-tying races and fish species identification. From the water, they had the opportunity to see Talley’s, Port Nelson, and Sealord up close. The day offered invaluable insights into the vast career opportunities available in the maritime sector, ranging from fishing and logistics to engineering. Overall, it was an inspiring experience that brought the world of maritime careers to life!

If you are an experienced finance and corporate manager looking for a change to join a passionate regional development team in a stunning location, we would love to hear from you!!

We are hiring! 🎉 NRDA is looking for a dynamic Finance and Corporate Manager to lead our finance and corporate operations and help drive economic growth in the beautiful #NelsonTasman region. If you’re a motivated leader with a passion for delivering exceptional results and making a real impact, this is the opportunity for you! Think this could be the perfect role for you, or someone you know, check out the link 👇 https://lnkd.in/gpWC65YJ #jobalert #finance

We are beyond excited to announce that Matthew Fairbrother and Gordon Duff's film "All In or Nothing" has been selected as a finalist and will have its world premiere at the 2024 Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity Film Festival this November. ✨ Since 1976, the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity Mountain Film and Book Festival has been an industry leader in celebrating Mountain Culture. Following the festival in Canada, the annual World Tour reaches more than 40 countries on 7 continents, making it the largest adventure film tour on the planet. The film follows Matthew's quest to race the first-ever NZ MTB Rally, a full six days of enduro racing across the #NelsonTasman region. Matt put the "endur" back in enduro and remained self-sufficient over the entire race and won. He even kayaked 30 km across Tasman Bay one evening. Read Matt's story 👇 https://lnkd.in/gfPgqxed #NelsonTasman is a proud sponsor and supporter of both "All In or Nothing" and the NZ MTB Rally. Nelson Tasman is a gold-rated IMBA riding centre, offering over 400km of world-class mountain biking trails that can be enjoyed year-round. As of September 2023, an economic assessment revealed that mountain biking in our region could generate $48.8 million in direct spending at full potential. Currently, it’s an estimated $30.3 million. So, we have the potential to add another $18m in direct visitor spending each year. Events like the NZ MTB Rally help breach this gap. A huge thank you to Ali Jamieson - MTB Guide for bringing this event to life. Read more about the event and its partners 👇 https://lnkd.in/gmWpTUKh "All In or Nothing" was supported by NZ MTB Rally, Alex Fairbrother, Philip Shorley, and many crowdfunding donors. The film is also sponsored by Mons Royale, Deviate Cycles, Shimano, MOTOREX Industry, POC. 📸 Henry Jaine 🤝 Nelson City Council Hon Dr Nick Smith Rebecca Leach Fiona Wilson Toni Power Craig Boodee Paul Jennings Stu Dalton, Amy Short, Alex Leal #banffworldtour #mountainculture #mountainbike #tourism #nzmustdo

NRDA was delighted to host another successful Food & Beverage networking event, this time at Hardy Street Eatery. Bringing the sector together in a room always leads to connection, problem-solving, and excitement. ✨ We were thrilled to announce our ‘Plate to Gate’ initiative, a planned digital campaign at Nelson Airport to connect our food and beverage collective with tourism. Look out for our #NelsonTasman culinary tourism itineraries! 🥘🍽️🍷 🤝 Melissa Munro ⭐️Nikki Neate⭐️ #foodandbeverage #tourism #platetogate

This week we held our 2023/24 Annual General Meeting at one of our favourite city spaces, Moananui Headquarters. Thank you to those who joined, and especially to Brad Olsen JP from Infometrics for yet another insightful overview of the economic challenges and opportunities ahead of our region - our key take outs from his presentation is to come! In a year that continued to present major challenges for our regional economy and businesses, as the region's economic development agency we remain clear and unified on our direction, our challenges and our investment priorities. Focused on unlocking the economic potential of Nelson Tasman, our 2023/24 programme targeted; - attracting resources to the region; - strengthening and profiling key sectors; - supporting businesses in investment, capability and connections; - building back our tourism sector; - and profiling the region to invest, live and visit. Read more about the work we've achieved over the past financial year here: https://lnkd.in/gtvVmn24 Partnerships and collaboration remain a key strength of how Nelson Tasman approaches regional development. We thank and acknowledge Te Tauihu iwi, our formal and informal partners in the public and private sector, and NRDA's long-term sponsor Bowater Motor Group. #nelsontasmannz #tetauihu #TūpunaPono Sarah-Jane Weir, Fiona Wilson, Toni Power, Melissa Munro, Craig Boodee, Mark Maguire

On Friday we joined Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce and Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) to welcome Hon Judith Collins KC MP to Mahitahi Colab where the Nelson AI Sandbox is currently based to showcase our regions leading AI initiative to build our communities' AI capability. The regional AI Showcase was brought together by Nelson’s world-leading community activation, Nelson AI Sandbox and included Nelson College students, businesspeople, technology experts, AI researchers and entrepreneurs, iwi leaders, local government and polytechnic educators. After a successful 6 months with over 6,000 locals engaged Co-Founder, Richard Brudvik-Lindner of the Nelson AI Sandbox sees AI as "a critical vehicle for helping Nelson address its productivity and economic growth problems and building social cohesion in our intergenerational and equal-access AI space. We undoubtedly could be a blueprint to help other communities accomplish similar goals, and accelerate the nation’s path toward productive, constructive use of AI.” “This is where we need to be...I’m really grateful you are all doing what you are doing on demystifying, bringing it down to earth and providing practical solutions for people.” Hon Judith Collins KC MP, Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology & Minister for Digitising Government, commented following a presentation about Nelson Tasman’s AI capabilities, as an emerging hub of excellence for AI in New Zealand. We're looking forward to seeing where technology can take us, let's go! Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT), Fiona Wilson, Ali Boswijk, Olivia Hall, ⭐️Nikki Neate⭐️, Russell Manning Blair Cameron, Stuart Smith Nelson City Council, Nicky McDonald Rohan O'Neill-Stevens Mayor Nick Smith, Mayor Tim King Rachel Boyack Te Rūnanga o Ngāti Kuia, Eugene Whakahoehoe MNZM Mark Houghton-Brown, Julian Maclaren David Brydon Nelson College ( Mention Arturo Neale & @Finn Palmer) Marine AI, Robert Cumming SnapCore, Chris Rodley Ali Kahwaji Emma Thompson, PUBLIK #Spaworld 📷 by Tim Cuff

We are asking businesses and industry representatives across Te Tauihu to submit to Government in support of the re-establishment of Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology (NMIT) as a standalone tertiary education provider. Please join us this evening along with Nelson Tasman Chamber of Commerce to hear from Olivia Hall and Mayor Nick Smith to discuss the implications of Government's proposal on our region. This is an opportunity for us to demonstrate the importance of NMIT for Nelson Tasman, to be responsive and targeted to regional industry needs and future partnership opportunities, to lift skills and raise our regional productivity. Register here: https://lnkd.in/g_RNt5zz https://lnkd.in/ghsSV579