Fifteen North Island tourism organisations have formed an alliance to generate international interest in their connected destinations. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Fifteen North Island tourism organisations have formed an alliance to generate international interest in their connected destinations. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Fifteen of the North Island‘s largest tourism organisations are forming an alliance in an effort to generate interest from key tourism markets including Australia, North America and China, utilising their combined insight and experience for the better.
The regional partnership includes organisations such as TātakiAuckland Unlimited, RotoruaNZ and WellingtonNZ, who have all signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The first-of-its-kind alliance was announced by Auckland Airport chief executive Carrie Hurihanganui at the Auckland Airport Tourism Forum in Rotorua ahead of the official opening of Trenz 2025, taking place there this week.
Auckland Airport chief executive Carrie Hurihanganui said the partnership aims to bring regions together.
Hurihanganui said the partnership aims to bring regions together to highlight and connect the wide range of destination offerings across the North Island to overseas visitors.
“It’s about leveraging our collective tourism pulling power,” she said.
“Individually, each region has a fabulous offering but we’re wanting to work together to help international visitors to better connect those dots to experience everything that is wonderful and unique about the North Island.
“As the gateway airport for many visitors to New Zealand, we’re really proud to come together with Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, RotoruaNZ and the other regional tourism organisations to develop and support this partnership.”
She said that the partnership builds on the work Auckland Airport has already done with Tātaki Auckland Unlimited and RotoruaNZ over the past year to attract back more Australian visitors with a dual region North Island destination proposition.
Hurihanganui believes that effort is already flowing through to an increase in Australian visitation, with the number of Australian tourists growing from 83% of pre-pandemic volumes last February to 92% one year on, equating to roughly an additional 110,000 tourists.
As of 2025, Australian arrivals make up 42% of all visitor arrivals to New Zealand.
A first-of-its-kind alliance between 15 North Island tourism organisations was announced by Auckland Airport chief executive Carrie Hurihanganui at the Auckland Airport Tourism Forum in Rotorua ahead of the official opening of Trenz 2025.
Auckland Airport chief customer officer Scott Tasker said: “It’s about working together and doing things together with a unified proposition and combining resources, particularly in travel-focused channels. The initial trade activity will start later this year.”
That initial trade activity will take place in September in Australia with the North Island Showcase. It will see over 60 North Island tourism operators connect with key Australian travel sellers at two events in Sydney and Melbourne.
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited’s Destination director Annie Dundas said the MoU was a “big step forward” in helping to strengthen the North Island’s international presence.
“The travel landscape is changing and we need to be smarter about how we show up overseas to sell our respective regions. This partnership allows us to be clearer in our proposition, which in turn will make it easier to meet the needs of our travel partners overseas and ultimately future travellers,” Dundas said.
“We see this as a massive opportunity, and we’re excited to be part of this collaborative effort.”
RotoruaNZ’s chief executive Andrew Wilson echoed the sentiment, believing the partnership will allow the organisations to move “beyond competition and into collaboration”.
“This partnership is a bold and necessary step forward for the North Island’s visitor economy. RotoruaNZ is proud to stand alongside our regional whānau to support a stronger, more connected North Island proposition,” Wilson said.
“This will not only help international visitors see more of what’s on offer, it will encourage longer stays, more meaningful travel and deeper connections with our people and places. Together, we’re making the North Island a compelling destination in its own right.”
