Regional Tourism New Zealand

What Regional Tourism New Zealand does

Regional Tourism New Zealand (RTNZ) is the peak membership organisation representing all 31 Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs) across Aotearoa New Zealand, headquartered in Wellington with a core team of approximately 5 employees. The organisation is governed by a Board of Trustees chaired by General Manager Katherine MacGregor, and operates as a non-profit funded by membership fees from RTOs, which are themselves primarily funded by local government councils. RTNZ's mandate is to advocate for regional tourism interests at the national level, foster collaboration across the RTO network, and provide strategic leadership on destination management, sustainability, and Indigenous (Te Ao Māori) stewardship principles.

The organisation's core offerings are membership representation, the Te Ōanga Mai national capability-building programme (winner of the 2022 NZ Tourism Award for Industry Collaboration), the Project Tōnui white paper (published May 2023) on the future of regional tourism, and destination management resources and guidelines. RTNZ provides no commercial technology products or software platforms; its intellectual property consists of policy frameworks, white papers, and capability curricula. Strategic partnerships span Tourism New Zealand, NZ Māori Tourism, Department of Conservation, Tourism Industry Aotearoa, Tourism Export Council, MBIE, and Te Puni Kōkiri, alongside regional multi-RTO collaborations such as Top of the South and the Southern Way initiative.

RTNZ's revenue model is subscription-based membership dues from its 31 RTO members, with no commercial pricing for products or services. The go-to-market motion is community-led advocacy and stakeholder engagement rather than product sales. No revenue figures are publicly disclosed, and the organisation has no parent company, no outside investors, and no funding rounds. Member RTOs serve as the customer base, with indirect beneficiaries including local government councils, Māori/iwi/hapū, and tourism operators and businesses across all New Zealand regions.

Name

Regional Tourism New Zealand

Legal name

Regional Tourism New Zealand

Website

https://rtnz.org.nz

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Regional Tourism New Zealand (RTNZ) is the peak membership body representing all 31 Regional Tourism Organisations across Aotearoa New Zealand, advocating for regional tourism interests and providing strategic leadership, capability building, and destination management resources to its RTO members.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tourism Advocacy and Destination Management

NAICS

Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Tourism Trade & Services Exports Development (BPADAMAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Community-Based & Indigenous Tourism Enablement (Local Ownership, Benefit-Sharing) (THAAANAI)

Keywords

• Regional tourism development
• Destination management
• Tourism advocacy services
• Membership organization
• Sustainable tourism strategy

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellington

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices30 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Membership Funding: RTNZ is a membership-based and funded organisation. The organization receives funding from its member Regional Tourism Organisations, which are primarily funded by local government councils throughout New Zealand.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Regional Tourism New Zealand (RTNZ) is a membership-based and funded organization that represents and advocates for the 31 Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs) throughout Aotearoa New Zealand. It fosters collaboration across the RTO network, provides strategic leadership, capability building, and best-practice sharing to support sustainable regional tourism development. Its offerings include membership representation, destination management resources, the Project Tōnui white paper, and the Te Ānga Mai national capability-building programme.

Product overview

Regional Tourism New Zealand (RTNZ) is a membership-based organization, not a technology product company. It provides advocacy, strategic leadership, and capacity-building services to 31 Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs) across New Zealand. Its primary offerings include membership representation, destination management resources, the Project Tōnui white paper, and the Te Ūnga Mai capability-building programme. RTNZ does not offer a software product or platform but serves as a coordinating body for regional tourism development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• RTNZ Membership Services Membership-based representation and advocacy services for the 31 Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs) throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, including strategic leadership, capacity building, best-practice sharing, and collaboration facilitation across the network.
• Destination Management Resources
• Project Tōnui A white paper examining the past, present and future of Regional Tourism in Aotearoa New Zealand, published May 2023, providing strategic recommendations for the sector.
• Te Ānga Mai Capability-Building Programme

Quantifiable outcome

• Te Ūnga Mai capability-building programme won the 2022 New Zealand Tourism Award for Industry Collaboration
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered regional, core and secondary.

• Top of the South CollaborationregionalStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Hurunui, Kaikōura, Marlborough, Nelson Tasman and West Coast RTOs combined forces to launch the Top of the South touring route (www.topofthesouthnz.com), showcasing the region's touring routes through collaborative destination marketing.
• Tourism New ZealandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTourism New Zealand is responsible for promoting New Zealand in key markets as a visitor destination. RTNZ and member RTOs collaborate with TNZ on international marketing initiatives and destination promotion strategies.
• New Zealand Māori TourismcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNZ Māori Tourism works collaboratively with the Māori tourism sector to ensure visitors experience authentic cultural connections, aligning with RTNZ's Te Ao Māori principles approach.
• Department of ConservationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDoC is the government agency charged with conserving New Zealand's natural and historic heritage. Conservation areas and national parks managed by DoC are major tourism attractions integral to regional destination management.
• Tourism Industry AotearoacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTIA is the independent association representing all sectors of New Zealand's tourism industry. RTNZ works with TIA on industry policy, strategy, and advocacy at the national level.
• Tourism Export Council of New ZealandsecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerTECNZ is a trade association representing the New Zealand inbound tourism industry. RTOs collaborate with TECNZ members on tour operator partnerships and travel trade.
• MBIE Tourism Evidence & Insights CentresecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerMBIE provides tourism data, insights, and evidence to inform tourism strategy and decision-making. RTNZ and RTOs use this evidence base for destination management planning.
• Queenstown Lakes District CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDestination Queenstown partners with QLDC on the Travel to a Thriving Future regenerative tourism plan, with the DMP built into council's Grow Well – Whaiora Spatial Plan.
• Lake Wānaka TourismcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLake Wānaka Tourism is a partner in Queenstown Lakes' destination management plan, working jointly on regenerative tourism initiatives and the Carbon Zero 2030 ambition.
• Southern Way InitiativeregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerTourism Central Otago is part of Southern Way, promoting longer-stay, lower-impact travel across 8 RTO areas in the lower South Island, partnering with Invercargill, Dunedin and Queenstown airports.
• Te Puni KōkiricoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMinistry for Māori Development partnered with Northland Inc on the dual-heritage destination management planning approach for Taitokerau Northland.
• NZ Transport Agency – Waka KotahicoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorthland Inc collaborates with NZTA on infrastructure planning to support tourism road networks and seasonal tourism traffic management.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Tourism Industry Aotearoa: Tia is New Zealand's national tourism industry association, the closest direct peer to RTNZ. Both organisations advocate for the tourism sector at the national level, engage central government and iwi, and convene industry. RTNZ focuses on regional tourism organisations while TIA represents all tourism sectors, making them complementary but overlapping peers.
• New Zealand Māori Tourism: NZ Māori Tourism is the national body representing the Māori tourism sector. RTNZ explicitly partners with NZ Māori Tourism to embed Te Ao Māori principles in regional destination management. Both organisations operate as national membership/advocacy bodies within New Zealand tourism with strong indigenous-cultural orientation.
• Australian Regional Tourism: Australian Regional Tourism is the closest international equivalent to RTNZ: a peak national body representing Australia's state and regional tourism organisations. Both organisations coordinate regional destination management, advocacy and capability building across their respective countries' regional tourism networks.
• Tourism Industry Association of Canada: TIAC is Canada's national private-sector tourism industry association advocating on policy, sustainability and competitiveness. Comparable to RTNZ in mission (national advocacy for tourism industry), though TIAC is broader in scope (entire industry vs RTNZ's RTO focus) and operates in a federated market similar to NZ.
• Scottish Tourism Alliance: The Scottish Tourism Alliance is the national leadership body for Scotland's tourism industry, providing advocacy, strategy and capability support to regional tourism organisations. Highly comparable to RTNZ as a small, advocacy-led national body coordinating regional tourism strategy in a small, culturally distinct market.

Broad incumbents

• Tourism New Zealand: Tourism New Zealand is the national tourism marketing organisation promoting New Zealand internationally. It is both a strategic partner to RTNZ and a broader incumbent with a much larger mandate, budget and global office network. Comparable as the national-level tourism body but operates at materially greater scale and scope.
• Destination Canada: Destination Canada is Canada's national destination marketing organisation, comparable in national tourism mandate but at materially greater scale. Like Tourism New Zealand, it is both a peer (national tourism body) and a larger incumbent with global marketing reach that RTNZ partners with rather than competes against.
• VisitBritain: VisitBritain is the national tourism agency for Great Britain, responsible for international destination marketing. Comparable as a national tourism body but significantly larger and broader in scope than RTNZ, serving as an international benchmark for the kind of scale RTNZ's network could aspire to coordinate.

Others

• European Travel Commission: ETC is the regional tourism body coordinating European national tourism organisations on joint international marketing and research. Comparable in role as a coordinating body for multiple national tourism organisations, though ETC operates at continental scale and focuses on international promotion rather than domestic destination management.

Regional players

• Destination British Columbia: Destination BC is the provincial destination management organisation for British Columbia, Canada. Comparable to a single New Zealand RTO in role (regional DMO with destination marketing, industry development and Indigenous tourism partnership responsibilities) but operates at provincial rather than national scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Regional Tourism New Zealand