The weather is heating up and MPs have abandoned Parliament for the holiday break. So what happens at Parliament during the summer? Amelia Langford investigates.
Parliament guide Diana Clear shows tourists around at one of the busiest times if year Photo: Supplied
It might be unexpected, but the summer break is frantic for Parliament.
Philippa Henwood, Parliament's Visitor Services Manager, says they can run up to 25 tours a day, with many visitors coming from other parts of New Zealand. “I think when people travel to Wellington, people understand that it's important to come and see where the rules and the laws are made for New Zealand...It's kind of like a rite of passage.”
Henwood says they have planned enough tours to host up to 575 people on the busiest day, which is usually January 3. “It's really busy between Christmas and New Year’s. So in January, we're hoping to get close to 11,000 people through the door.”
The tour covers all the Parliamentary buildings including the Beehive, Parliament House and the Parliamentary Library. And of course, Parliament's grounds are also open to the public over the summer break.
“You see people playing touch rugby, even, out on the grounds. There's not many parliaments in the world where you can actually just kick back and have a picnic, play touch rugby or just sit in the sun.
“It's beautiful space in Wellington to chill out.”
There's also a shop in Parliament which sells a range of New Zealand souvenirs and other products. That includes an exclusive range of mints including 'Parliamints' and 'Governmints'.
Philippa Henwood, Visitor Services Manager, checks out the Parliament souvenir shop Photo: Amelia Langford
Do you wanna be a tour guide?
Henwood says tour guiding can be a really good job especially for students over summer, when Parliament needs extra guides. “All the guides are really passionate about Parliament and about the process....One has just completed her national certificate in tour guiding, so in terms of a career that's an option,” she says.
Guides need to keep up with the play and know what's going on in politics. “They need to be able to respond to people's questions and handle tricky questions so it can be quite a challenging job,” Henwood says.
When it's busy, each guide can take up to four tours a day with each tour lasting about an hour. “Our longest serving guide has been here 15 years...there's a range of people and people come from really varied backgrounds.
“Some come with a teaching background...some have done other jobs, had other careers before they've come to Parliament to be a tour guide, some are just starting out, so there's a real range.”
The national certificate in tour guiding is available through Service IQ.
“[But] you don't need to have the certificate - it's more about personality, interest, and a desire to provide really good, interesting tours and good customer service,” says Henwood.
This content was made for The Wireless with funding from Parliament.
