2009 Outlook

Hello and welcome to 2009 here in Dunedin, on the South island of New Zealand. As I look at the articles in the local and national newspapers, be it the business section or even the opinion page, all I see is a "doom and gloom" outlook from what is usually an upbeat and optimistic host population. I am not a psychologist, nor do I claim to fully understand the Kiwi as a person, but I see tremendous opportunities almost everywhere I look - especially here in Dunedin.

In my last writing, I mentioned the other brainstorming session we had, this time with the business classes. All of these students are looking to set up their own businesses, and the classes have a mix of newcomers to Dunedin (70%) and host population (30%). During the session we heard many different ideas, with the biggest opportunity being tourism, and all of the services that fall under this category. Be it better service at local cafes and pubs, a more coordinated effort for all of the cruise ships that arrive this time of year or more hotel rooms. Education tourism was mentioned, as well as more international language services available to overseas guests. What I found most exciting was the openness of all involved in the session, as for that moment we were all equal in our feelings to make the place better, with all of us being citizens of Dunedin - whether born here or not! I must confess that this is not always the case, with some prejudices and ignorance of the outside world showing itself more often than it should. Dunedin has been described to me more times then I care to remember, as being "conservative". This definition has many versions, some of which I will discuss in a future writing.

I am looking forward to 2009, no doom and gloom here! We at Maverick Group are expecting great things to happen for the remaining 361 days of 2009. Will keep you updated, and we wish all of you great success as well!