Rachel Leinhardt

As a sales executive for Skyline Enterprises - Rotorua's famous gondola company - Rachel Leinhardt is responsible for securing new business to increase the company's revenue, as well as managing direct marketing and PR activities.

She has a great passion for the tourism industry, having been immersed in it from a young age. Rachel witnessed first-hand how much hard work her parents put into managing a major thermal visitor attraction in Rotorua for 35 years.

Rachel completed a Bachelor of Tourism with first class honours in 2013, majoring in Tourism Management and Marketing. She then finished off her education with a Master of Management Studies in 2014, also with first class honours.

Towards the end of her degree, Rachel completed a management internship at Wai-o-Tapu Thermal Wonderland in Rotorua, which gave her the experience needed after finishing university to land the job as Wai-o-Tapu's new marketing manager.

During this time, she created a social media strategy for the business and helped to completely redesign their website.

Rachel loves being able to put into practice what she learned at university. “I’m in charge of all marketing activities, for both domestic and international markets. This involves maintaining relationships with local tour operators, accommodation providers and inbound operators.”

“It’s my job to ensure that marketing channels like our website, external publications and social media all align with the mission of the business.”

Rachel has attended several large conferences on tourism and general business management, where she learnt a great deal by listening to industry experts.

She finds the tourism industry a really positive place to work, “as visitors are at their leisure and in good spirits”.