Tourism college confirmed for Bay of Islands

A new tourism college will open in the Far North.

Tertiary education in the Far North is set to get a major boost next year with the opening of a tourism and hospitality college in Paihia.

The new college - which will start with 25 students in April, growing to 75 by the end of the year and eventually to as many as 350 - will be a satellite campus of the 400-student Queenstown Resort College (QRC). The plan is being launched in Waitangi today.

The new campus - QRC Tai Tokerau Tourism and Hospitality Management College - will be on the first floors of two adjacent buildings on Selwyn Rd in central Paihia.

But, unlike the Queenstown campus where fees run to about $13,000 a year, the cost of studying in Paihia will be kept to about $3500 a year to make it accessible to Northlanders. Scholarships will be available to those who can't afford the fees.

The course is residential so QRC will lease accommodation for the students. It will also use a nearby hotel for practical training. Northland youth will be the main focus of the new college which aims to have Northland Maori make up 60 per cent of the roll.

QRC chief executive Charlie Phillips said the new campus would follow the Queenstown model but the focus would be on Northland students and keeping fees down.

Up to 25 per cent of the students would be international to "de-risk" the venture and reduce costs for locals.

Students would study for six months before completing a paid internship for a minimum of 1000 hours, then finish with another six months of study. Class sizes would be capped at 25 with a fresh intake every three months.

Initially the Paihia campus will offer the two-year Diploma of Hospitality Management with about seven staff. It would eventually expand to 35-40 staff and include a qualification in adventure tourism management.

Mr Phillips said the course was residential with an emphasis on pastoral care. Students would get three meals a day, a "mum and dad" at their hall of residence and a "super coach" organising sport and activities.

Earlier this year the company checked out Whangarei, Kerikeri, Paihia and Russell as possible locations.

It came down to Paihia and Kerikeri, with Paihia making the final cut due to its greater focus on tourism.