Trading with China Talk – Ngāi Tahu

Wednesday 26 July 2017

Lisa Tumahai, Chair of Ngāi Tahu, and Quinton Hall, Chief Executive of Ngāi Tahu Tourism spoke to the Dunedin Shanghai Association about their relationships in the area of Trading with China.

The Chinese market is a significant market for Ngāi Tahu Tourism and they have been developing their products for this market, working in conjunction with other arms of Ngāi Tahu and at the same time focused on Ngai Tahu’s core values. They are focused on a strong understanding of their Chinese customers and are developing online channels to promote their products.

Lisa spoke about the general structure of Ngāi Tahu: their governance structure and its relationship with their Iwi. Lisa also spoke about the development and authentication process for Pounamu and making connections with master craftsmen in China in the jade area. They are developing a partnership in education of Pounamu carving in conjunction with some Chinese partners currently, and looking at further development of their Pounamu, both as a cultural and economic resource for Ngāi Tahu and New Zealand.

There were interesting questions from the audience on conservation and tourism, the development of Pounamu as a cultural resource and how Ngāi Tahu Tourism has been marketing towards Chinese consumers.