Lynda (MBA) has 40 years’ experience in the tourism industry across the inbound, education, destination management and marketing (RTOs), product development and event sectors. She has worked internationally for the UNDP World Tourism Organisation in the Cook Islands (1994-95) and for the South Asian Tourism Council (1997-98). Lynda was previously the former CEO at Tourism Waikato, Scottwood Trust and Nelson Tasman Tourism.
Lynda leads the Tourism Export Council of New Zealand which is NZ’s leading private sector organisation with a focus purely on international tourism. Members include inbound tour operators, transport, accommodation, activity and attraction businesses and tourism service companies. Pre-COVID the key focus was to build long term relationships with offshore travel wholesalers and agents and sell NZ to the world and get NZ tourism supplier businesses included on tour itineraries.
The international sector of the tourism industry has been the most impacted sector affected by the global pandemic and closure of NZ’s border. Today, TECNZ’s role is focused on educating and lobbying government on the strategic and critical role of ITOs and their importance to NZ’s international tourism recovery, and provide support to businesses that have most been impacted.