Editorial Team

Patrick Smith brings to his role as editor of Weekend a long background in both journalism and travel. Patrick has held newspaper, magazine, press agency and broadcasting roles in the UK, Asia, Australia and in New Zealand – where he’s worked for Radio NZ News, the Sunday Star-Times, NZ Herald, ACP Media, Regatta Group “and quite a few publications that are no longer with us”.

He started his own freelance editorial business in 1989 and has been “busy every since”. He’s travelled widely and has written on travel for almost 20 years, for a host of publications including Sunday, for which he wrote the popular weekly ‘Getaways’ column.

He’s a former two-term president of New Zealand Travel Communicators (Travcom), an association of travel writers, photographers and other industry communicators which presents the annual Cathay Pacific Travel Media Awards.

“Weekends mean different things to different people,” he says. “For some it’s a chance to laze around the house; for others it means getting into the garden, or taking a break from domestic chores all together. You can do a lot of things – and go a long way – in a weekend.

I’m excited about Weekend magazine because it opens up a whole world of ideas and information for making the most of precious free time in our increasingly busy lives.” Patrick has assembled a team of top New Zealand travel writers and photographers to bring their unique perspectives to the Weekend format.