NAROOMA HOSPITALITY: David Creary, Commercial Hotel and Bank Hotel, Bega; Tony Harney, local sub-branch president and Royal Willows Hotel Pambula; Paul Nicolaou, chief executive NSW AHA; hosts Angie and Paul O’Brien, O’Briens Hotel Narooma; and Natalie Kell, Commercial Hotel Pambula.
NEW Australian Hotels Association (NSW) chief executive officer Paul Nicolaou paid his first official visit to Narooma yesterday (Tuesday), attending a meeting of the Far South Coast sub-branch, and speaking directly to local hoteliers first-hand.
The visit is part of a lengthy tour of regional NSW the new CEO has
undertaken to familiarise himself with hotels right across the state.
“The AHA (NSW) has a strong membership in the Narooma area, and local
hoteliers are strong employers who also contribute greatly to local sporting, community and charity groups,” Mr Nicolaou said.
“I welcomed the opportunity to meeting with local hoteliers and talk to them about issues they face on a daily basis.
“There are a lot of similar topics that hoteliers around NSW bring up as I visit their districts, ranging from the planned 2015 outdoor dining smoking bans right through to the difficulties of running a small business when costs like electricity are constantly rising.
“However, there are also issues specific to each local area and I was
interested to hear the views of south coast members first-hand.
“I have visited the Newcastle, Riverina, Central Coast, Mid-North Coast,
Wollongong and Central West areas since taking over as CEO earlier this year,” Mr Nocolaou said.
The Far South Coast sub-branch met at O’Briens Hotel.
In total the 1700 AHA (NSW) hotels employ 75,000 people across the state, give $25 million directly to charity each year and support 40,000 sporting and community groups.