Helping visitors find authentic experiences off the beaten track. That’s the idea behind a new Queenstown Lakes travel platform, Good Finds, set up by local tourism professionals Brad Rowe and Tim Wells. Rowe says the platform — goodfinds.co.nz — stems from a text Wells sent four months ago. “It became a shared conviction that the best experiences are hard to find but they make the best travel stories. “The things we do naturally and authentically in New Zealand make for the best experiences. “Visitors want to meet normal people and see what ordinary life is like, but it’s hard to book — e.g. farmers, trail runners, artists, wine makers, local historians, etc. “Experiences that feel less like tourism and more like being invited in. “The global travel market is huge and growing, but distribution is rigged towards scale. “The one-person, one-farm, one-craft experience struggles to compete with the big operators with the big budget, teams and resources who dominate online distribution.” Rowe says they are inspired by what Technology Queenstown is doing, and how tourism tech can be built here. “Our vision is to prove the model here in Queenstown Lakes, then go to other NZ locations, and then international.” — PHILIP CHANDLER
