COVID Down Under: How the Southern Hemisphere Responded to a Winter of Pandemic

As the winter months loom ahead, there is much uncertainty as the pandemic continues. Oregon’s COVID-19 case count is on the rise, and temperatures are falling, making businesses who’ve relied on moving their operations outdoors nervous about the future. This panel discussion, moderated by the Columbia Gorge Tourism Alliance (CGTA), engages tourism agency experts from New Zealand and Australia about their experiences with COVID-19 during their winter months.
The one-hour webinar explores each country’s response to the crisis, how tourism was affected, their strategies for supporting business, and the communications they used along the way.

CEO of Destination Queenstown, Ann Lockhart, and Visit Victoria Regional Manager, Dave Evans, share their lessons learned since March and what recovery looks like now as they move into spring.

Panelist: Ann Lockhart, Destination Queenstown CEO
With more than 20 years of experience in senior management roles, Ann has been involved in a wide range of industry sectors including government relations, business development and tourism. Before heading up Destination Queenstown, she was the former chief executive of the Queenstown Chamber of Commerce. No stranger to Oregon, she also worked as an international representative with Columbia Sportswear for many years.

Panelist: Dave Evans, Visit Victoria Regional Manager
Dave Evans has more than 17 years of extensive experience ideating, directing and executing high value strategic marketing partnerships, formulating brand marketing strategies, sales and business development and public relations management. He has worked for a diverse range of companies including Destination Marketing Organizations, corporate travel sector, higher education and the leisure tourism industry in North America, South America and Australia.

Moderator: Emily Reed, Network Director, Columbia Gorge Tourism Alliance

This panel was facilitated by the Columbia Gorge Tourism Alliance and brought to you through a collaboration with Travel Oregon.