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Emeritus Professor David Simmons has been presented with New Zealand tourism’s most prestigious individual honour, the Sir Jack Newman Award, representing the first time the honour has been presented to a university academic.

Emeritus Professor of Tourism David Simmons, who recently retired from Lincoln University, was presented with the award at the Tourism Summit Aotearoa dinner in Wellington on Wednesday evening.

Established in 1963, the Sir Jack Newman Award recognises an outstanding industry leader who has completed considerable service to the tourism industry, including a substantial degree of personal involvement over and above what is normally expected. Their achievements have been of considerable benefit to the industry.

Professor Simmons has been a strong contributor to thinking on the direction of the Aotearoa New Zealand tourism industry over four decades. He was one of only two academics invited to contribute to the New Zealand Government’s Tourism 2015 strategy and he was on the group that established the industry’s Tourism 2025 Growth Framework.

He is now contributing to the Tourism Futures Taskforce which is advising the government on the future of tourism in New Zealand.

In 2015, he was awarded a Fellowship of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism, the highest achievable international honour for a tourism scholar.

Professor Simmons has contributed to international tourism planning in Cambodia, Mauritius, Niue, Vanuatu, Nepal, India, Sarawak and North Korea, and advised international organisations including the World Wildlife Fund, United Nations and the World Tourism Organisation.

He has led major research programmes, with his work on tourism yield undertaken a decade ago still having considerable relevance today.

More recently, Professor Simmons established the Lincoln University Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Tourism, a multidisciplinary research centre focused on generating and supporting projects that contribute to the development of a new blueprint for sustainable tourism in New Zealand and globally.

Commenting on the presentation, Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) Chief Executive, Chris Roberts stated “simply put, David has been the most engaged academic with the New Zealand tourism industry for many, many years. He has been at the forefront of issues like sustainability and regional dispersal.

“He has been heavily involved as an advisor, speaker and at times an informed critic. He has never shied away from offering an opinion and it is always an opinion worth listening to.”

TIA is not holding the annual New Zealand Tourism Awards this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Sir Jack Newman Award is the only award being presented this year.

Tourism students awarded $4500 scholarships 
Two tertiary students have each received a $4500 to help them complete their final year of study and prepare for their prospective careers in the tourism industry. 

Also announced at this week’s Tourism Summit Aotearoa in Wellington, the recipients of the 2021 Tourism Industry New Zealand Trust Academic Scholarship (managed by TIA), were awarded to:

• Alexia Williams, New Zealand School of Tourism 
• Sophie Galletly, WelTec

The scholarships, which have been on offer each year since 2015, are open to young New Zealanders about to commence their final year of tertiary study in a tourism-related course in 2021.
Valued at $4500 each, the scholarships comprise a $2500 payment towards the recipient’s final year of study in a tourism-related tertiary course, along with attendance at Tourism Summit Aotearoa. The recipients also attend a TIA hosted development and networking day with Wellington-based tourism operators and organisations, a TIA mentor, and continued support from TIA post-study to encourage industry engagement. 

About the winners 
Alexia Williams - Tainui, Ngati Tamainupo
Alexia Williams of Cambridge is studying towards a Tourism and Travel Diploma at the New Zealand School of Tourism. Having spent several years involved in local community organisations like Kōhanga Reo, Alexia is approaching tourism well-grounded in kaupapa Māori and aspires to use these skills in her future career in the industry. 

Sophie Galletly
Sophie Galletly of Upper Hutt is studying towards a Diploma in Tourism Travel at WelTec. Despite only finishing college last year she has extended her record of achievement, topping her current cohort and earning a place amongst the highest achieving students of the past five years. 

Images: Emeritus Professor David Simmons receives the Sir Jack Newman Award from TIA Chief Executive, Chris Robert (top) and the presentation of the 2021 Tourism Industry New Zealand Trust Academic Scholarship, from left: Alexia William, TINZT Chair Gráinne Troute and Sophie Galletly.

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