Dear Skålleagues,

3 weeks, 2 Congresses, 20,400 miles travelled, from -3 degrees and snow in NZ to a 45-degree desert in Bahrain! May was a big month of travel and Skål engagements but an incredibly special one reconnecting with colleagues and friends from afar and celebrating many achievements!

My first stop was attending the Skål International Christchurch 'Twinning' luncheon hosted by Rydges Latimer with around 80 Skålleagues in attendance. I was joined by fellow aussies Skål International Vice President Denise Scrafton, Skål Australia Director Mel Brown, Broome Club Secretary Jensen Skjellerup, and Sunshine Coast member Morgan Taylor. It was a sensational lunch with special guest The Hon. Matt Doocey MP (Minister for Tourism and Hospitality) talking about the big plans for tourism and hospitality in NZ. The event was also centred around celebrating the twinning partnerships the Christchurch Club has with Adelaide, Cape Winelands and Troy with the lunch menu inspired by dishes from each of the twinning regions.

The following day we headed to Queenstown for the Skål International New Zealand Congress hosted by Ramada Queenstown Central. This was my first visit to Queenstown and wow, what an incredible place! So cold... snowing... but absolutely magical! I was invited to attend the Skål NZ Executive Board meeting to give an update on Skål Australia where we also discussed the current challenges in our regions and the importance of working closely together to keep our regions strong. At the welcome function we were welcomed by the Mayor of Queenstown Glyn Lewers and Joseph Mooney MP, member for Southland for a great night of networking. At the Skål NZ AGM, I gave another update on Skål Australia and the many plans we are working through at present to increase value for membership, improving our sustainability efforts, increasing our industry exposure and maximising our presence on social media and enhancements to our monthly digital newsletter. In exciting news, Victoria Wales from Christchurch was elected National President along with a new committee also elected at the meeting. Following the AGM, a series of workshops were held including Skål Matters, the great Quality vs Quantity debate and a presentation about the new Destination Management Plan by Matt Woods, CEO of Destination Queenstown. 

The Gala Dinner was held at the stunning St. Moritz and there was much to be celebrated! Outgoing President Sally Attfield was thanked and recognised for her valuable contribution as National President over the past four years and we celebrated incoming President Victoria Wales. I would like to thank and wish Sally all the best, it was a pleasure working alongside Sally these past four years in my various roles on the Australian Executive. I would also like to congratulate Victoria, a colleague but more importantly a close friend. I am very much looking forward to working with Victoria as the 'dynamite duo' for Region 12 and 13 and I have no doubt Victoria will take Skål NZ to greater heights. I must also thank Victoria for being the "hostess with the mostess" and for looking after us so well and for making our stay in NZ a very memorable one. A congratulations is also in order for Raymond Faulkner who was awarded NZ Skålleague of the Year!

Following a delicious brunch on the Sunday and lot's of goodbyes, myself, Jensen, Mel, Vic & Morgan grabbed the Skyline to enjoy breath-taking panoramic views of Queenstown and its snow capped mountains with a few snow ball fights and snow angels along the way! It was a fantastic weekend re-connecting with our Kiwi colleagues and friends, and I thank Skål NZ and the Queenstown Club for putting on such a great event. 

Fast forward 48 hours and myself and Jensen arrived into the very hot Kingdom of Bahrain (45+ degrees) for the 53rd Asian Area Congress where we met up with Perth President Michael Collins and Skålleagues from all around the world. It was a fantastic few days flying the Australian flag and reconnecting with fellow colleagues and friends to discuss and promote sustainable tourism, presentations highlighting the current industry trends and insights like AI, and plenty of networking amongst Skålleagues with many business opportunities and potential collaboration discussed with one of our biggest markets.

We celebrated a new partnership between Skål International Perth and Skål International Hyderabad with a special Twinning Ceremony. Both clubs pledged their commitment to mutual collaboration, understanding and friendship, to support and encourage business amongst friends and to promote sustainable and responsible outcomes between the Perth and Hyderabad Clubs.

We were very privileged to reconnect and spend time with Skål International World President Annette Cardenas (Region 4), and Directors Andres Hayes (Region 1), Jose Luis Quintero (Region 8), Mohan NSN (Region 10) and Kevin Rautenbach (Region 11) where much was discussed about the future of our organisation and how each member's involvement and commitment play a pivotal role in shaping the future of Skål, and the Presidential theme of 'Building Bridges for a stronger Skål'.

Between meetings and events Skålleagues explored the many sites Bahrain has to offer visiting Bahrain National Museum, Bahrain Fort, Muharraq Souq, Bab Al Bahrain, the Royal Camel Farm and the Bahrain International Circuit. Thank you to Skål International Asia, Asian Area President Keethi Jayaweera, the Asian Area Board, Skål International Bahrain President Buzizi, the Bahrain Skål Club and the Gulf Hotel for hosting an incredible Congress!

For those interested, the 2025 Asian Area Congress will be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 26 - 29 June 2025, I encourage our Australian members to 'save the date' and consider attending what will be an amazing Congress in "The Pearl of the Indian Ocean".

In other Skål Australia news - Following our recent Executive Board meeting, and discussions regarding the projected workload involved with making new Australian managed websites, it was decided that in the best interest of time and resources available, we would persist with the existing websites until the new international websites are released. In doing so, we have also made some changes to the National website to address the main 'pain point' our clubs have around loading events and created a new "Skål Australia Monthly Club Events" page with a link on the 'Events' tab and on the main landing page under 'Upcoming Skål Events'. 

We will require clubs to send us their upcoming events to president@skal.org.au, with information to include event name, date, time, venue, booking link and a photo. Many clubs have had difficulty loading events using the instructions and tutorials provided therefore we are hoping that in the interim, one page with access to all upcoming club events will be helpful to club members and travelling Skålleagues, and will save us all a lot of time until the new websites are available. For those clubs that do load their events, please feel free to continue doing so but we would appreciate being sent the details all the same to load on the events page.

We still have some Clubs who haven't appointed their Sustainability Champion. To enable us to plan for a responsible and sustainable future for Skål Australia and to promote sustainable projects and initiatives locally and nationally, we need your help.

Furthermore, as mentioned previously, if you have registered to attend the World Congress in Izmir in October and you haven't been added to our WhatsApp communication group then please email me. Discussions regarding travel plans, accommodation, pre and post touring options are already underway!

On the 19th June, your Skål Australia Executive Board will be meeting with Club Presidents via Zoom to give them an update on the happenings of Skål, discuss Skål Australia matters, current projects and to rehash some important information pertaining to the running of your Clubs.

We will shortly launch registrations for our upcoming National Assembly in Cairns and we look forward to seeing as many Australian members attend our mid-year meeting which is shaping up to be a real tropical fun filled weekend, we hope you can make it!

Yours in Skål,

Ash Munn
President - Skål International Australia
Partnerships & Technology