Fifteen regional tourism organisations from New Zealand’s North Island have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to promote the island as a unified travel destination.
The collaboration aims to boost visitor numbers, length of stay, and regional spread through coordinated marketing, targeting key international markets, including Australia, North America, and China. Announced at the Auckland Airport Tourism Forum in Rotorua, ahead of the opening of Trenz 2025, Auckland Airport chief executive Carrie Hurihanganui said the partnership – the first of its kind among regional tourism organisations in the North – aims to present the North Island’s combined destinations to international visitors.
She said: “It’s about leveraging our collective tourism pulling power. 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.”
She added that Auckland Airport is supporting the partnership and that earlier joint efforts have helped increase Australian visitor numbers, which have recovered to 92 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
In 2019, Australian visitors made up 40 per cent of all arrivals to New Zealand. As of December 2025, this has increased to 42 per cent.
Tātaki Auckland Unlimited’s destination director, Annie Dundas, shared: “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.
“Our first activity will take place in September in Australia with the North Island Showcase, seeing over 60 North Island tourism operators connect with key Australian travel sellers at two events in Sydney and Melbourne.”
The MoU was signed during the forum by participating regional tourism leaders. The signatories are Northland Inc, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, Destination Hauraki Coromandel, Hamilton & Waikato Tourism, Tourism Bay of Plenty, RotoruaNZ, Tairāwhiti Gisborne, Destination Great Lake Taupō, Visit Ruapehu, Venture Taranaki, Hawke’s Bay Tourism, Whanganui and Partners, Central Economic Development Agency, Destination Wairarapa, and WellingtonNZ. Acknowledgement was given to Wellington Airport and Hamilton Airport for their support.
RotoruaNZ chief executive Andrew Wilson stated that by collaborating, regions can move beyond competition to showcase the diverse experiences of the North Island, encouraging longer stays and deeper connections with visitors.
Hurihanganui emphasised tourism’s importance to New Zealand’s economy and the need for industry collaboration as the sector recovers from Covid. While there is uncertainty in some overseas markets, particularly the US, she highlighted strong summer demand and a fully recovered North America route. She also stressed the competitive airline market and the importance of working together to drive demand.
As of March 31, 2025, Auckland Airport recorded 379,000 US travellers for the year ending February 2025, up from 364,000 the previous year, following strong summer travel. Chinese visitor arrivals increased by 22 per cent, though they remain 44 per cent below 2019 levels, resulting in a loss of A$1.23 billion (US$800 million) in international tourism revenue. Total international arrivals have recovered to 84 per cent of 2019 levels. Each year, international and domestic travel through Auckland Airport generates A$35.1 billion in economic activity, alongside A$26 billion in trade. The airport currently serves 26 airlines flying to 42 destinations.
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