Gisela Purcell

What do you do at TIA?
I’m a sustainability advocate – working to make tourism in NZ more sustainable. As well as considering environmental factors and reducing the carbon footprint of the sector, I also factor in the needs of our local communities, the visitors themselves and economic sustainability too.

What's your career background?
Most recently I was the destination manager for Te Tauihu (Nelson Tasman). I’ve also worked in regional wine marketing and for over a decade I ran my own business which was focussed on teaching a range of languages to children throughout New Zealand and Australia.

What do you do for fun?
I love to explore our national parks on foot, kayaks or bikes. Nelson Lakes National Park is my favourite for its wonderful (but often under-appreciated) mountains, freezing lakes and awesome mountain bike trails.

Do you have any pets or fur babies?
I have an elderly cat and a sweet young pup who I try to talk to in te reo. She gets “E kai” right every time, “E noho” and “E hikoi” are pretty good but “Hāere mai” needs a bit more training.