The cooperation even extends to their leadership, where Destination Queenstown’s (DQ) chief executive Mat Woods is now also chief exec of Lake Wanaka Tourism (LWT).
He took that dual role when LWT’s head of destination stepped down in March.
And, as of July 1, DQ and LWT will also operate with the same annual plan.
Woods says better cooperation between the RTOs — which exist, unusually, within the same Queenstown Lakes District Council boundaries — has been discussed for 10-plus years.
Then, during Covid, both organisations, together with council, produced a destination management plan.
Following that, DQ and LWT last year entered a shared services agreement where data insights, HR and admin and trade and business events marketing are now shared between the two.
Woods: "And it makes sense because when you think about when the trade team goes to America, why would you send someone from Queenstown and someone from Wanaka, when we could actually send one person to talk about both regions?"
Now, DQ and LWT have adopted a fully shared services partnership, which also embraces all their marketing, media and communications activity.
"We still have two offices, but it’s one lot of staff," Woods says.
"There’s 31 RTOs in the whole of New Zealand, and we do know the current Minister of Tourism has said that’s too many. So we’re ... showing how you can work together."
Wood says as operational efficiencies are being made, "there is more to be able to spend on marketing, promotion and member capability".
DQ and LWT are keeping separate offices and boards — "we want to ensure we retain the two distinctive brands", Woods says.
