As New Zealand tourism continues its growth journey, one that has seen the destination return to 92 per cent of overall pre-pandemic visitation, authorities are looking at ways in which they can not just build upon visitor numbers, but grow the types and quality of experiences on offer.
Three significant trends, or consumer demands, could help shape this next chapter of growth.
According to Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) CEO Rebecca Ingram, the first is a rise in interest in Māori culture among visitors.
“About 13% of our visitors are coming here to experience our culture and heritage,” she tells Karryon in an Australian exclusive interview at Trenz, the largest travel industry event on the NZ calendar, held in Rotorua this year.
“And that’s a number that I’d like to grow, because only in New Zealand, can you have a Māori culture experience.
“We have 31 Māori tourism businesses at Trenz this year, and I have big aspirations to continue to grow that.”
The prevalence of culture as a driver for visitation is particularly important to Rotorua, which is considered the home of Māori culture – as well as the birthplace of New Zealand tourism – and places like Te Puia, an amazing attraction that offers Māori experiences featuring geysers, traditional arts and crafts, cultural performances, the kiwi bird and Māori cuisine.
Bright future for dark skies
The second trend is New Zealand’s dark sky offering.
“I remember I was hosting a guest internationally, and I noticed they were straining their neck as we were driving, and they were looking out the window, and I said, ‘What are you looking at?’. And they said, I can see the stars; I don’t think I’ve ever seen stars like it,” Ingram explains.
“And so you can see that in some of the new products that have been launched – we’ve got night sky products, dark sky products.”
In 2024, Kaikōura on New Zealand’s South Island was even designated an International Dark Sky Sanctuary, bringing Aotearoa a step closer to its goal of becoming the world’s first dark sky nation.
Wellness wonderland
The third major movement TIA is seeing is a “burgeoning and important well-being trend across tourism products in New Zealand”.
“We know that there is a deep and important connection between being in the environment and your own well being – and what better place than New Zealand to be making those sorts of connections,” Ingram states.
“In Rotorua, that’s particularly strong – the hot pools have different elements that are good for different ailments that you might have or building up your own immunity and well-being and health. We have spas. It really is quite prominent and I can definitely see that also in some of the new products.”
A massive, recently launched offering in well-being tourism is Rotorua’s Wai Ariki Hot Springs & Spa, a spa experience founded on te ao Māori and the centuries-old healing practices of the Ngāti Whakaue people, which circles back nicely to the rise in prominence of Māori culture in tourism.
Whilst in Rotorua, Karryon had a firsthand look at the NZ$70 million facility, which opened in June 2023, and was left seriously impressed by the size and scale of the place.
The experience will also be boosted by a new five-star hotel, slated to open in the coming years, right next door to the Lake Rotorua-fronted property.
Going green(er)
Beyond these experiences, Ingram highlights how NZ is really “embracing and telling our food story”
“So we’ve got some beautiful new product on the Trenz floor, which is about oysters. We’ve got vineyards here, so all of it’s coming together beautifully,” she explains.
Tied into all of these experiences is the push for greater regenerative and sustainable tourism.
“There’s also some really exciting stuff that’s happening in terms of low carbon initiatives,” the TIA boss states.
“We now have 2,100 businesses signed up to the Tourism Sustainability Commitment, which is an essential step in taking really positive action for sustainability.”
In Rotorua, attractions like Skyline are doing their bit.
“Skyline revamped all of its luge tracks, but alongside that, they’ve created a wetland and a pond for waterfowl, and they’ve planted over 5,000 native plants and another 10,000 trees, returning much of Mt Ngongotaha back to its natural state,” RotoruaNZ CEO Andrew Wilson said at the opening of Trenz.
Another way in which operators are prioritising more sustainable tourism is by addressing the issue of predators.
“I know an enormous number of tourism businesses on the [Trenz] floor are involved in ‘Predator Free’, which has quite a specific context in New Zealand,” Ingram tells Karryon.
“Internationally, if you say predator, you might be thinking of a lion or a bear! In New Zealand, we’re thinking about rats, mice and possums because they’re the things that are eating our native flora and affecting our beautiful bird life.
“So there is a very strong drive for the industry to focus forward and look at what it is that we can achieve for New Zealand, while also ensuring that our businesses are thriving.”
Quantity AND quality
While New Zealand visitor numbers are still below pre-Covid arrivals, authorities are stressing the importance of not focusing excessively on the sheer quantity of international tourists.
More importantly, according to New Zealand Minister for Tourism and Hospitality Louise Upston, is how the country gets there – that is through higher quality and more collaborative experiences.
“I don’t want anyone thinking it’s just about getting back to the numbers. Because what’s been really clear to me over the last couple of months is the really exciting connections and collaboration that have happened that I’ve never seen before in the sector,” she told delegates at Trenz.
“How we get there, and how we work together, and how we do things differently”, Upston says, is “really important, because that is what will make the experiences of those who come to New Zealand different”.
“And that is how we preserve that really special, unique way that we welcome and we care for our guests.”
Speaking at Trenz, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon flagged how tourism is now worth over $44 billion annually to NZ, contributing 7.5% of GDP. And although there is plenty of room for growth, he said that “there’s also more capability and more opportunities to provide more premium attractions and experiences”.
“This doesn’t mean more expensive, it just means a better, higher value exchange between the customer and the seller,” he added.
Upston says that tourism is currently the number two New Zealand export, but believes it can return to “number one in terms of export earnings”.
“We’ve done it before and we’ll do it again.”
If the exchanges at Trenz 2025 are anything to go by, you wouldn’t want to bet against it getting there.
Karryon attended Trenz as a guest of TIA and Air New Zealand. For more info on the event, click here.
Read how New Zealand PM Christopher Luxon threw his support behind the tourism sector at Trenz 2025 here, and check out how Rotorua welcomed delegates to New Zealand’s biggest travel trade event here.
All images by Mark Harada unless stated.
