The Destinate Weekly Roundup w/c 12 October 2026
There is quite a bit happening in tourism trade and distribution this week, but rather than revisiting the same conversations around Australia’s outbound growth, the ongoing importance of travel advisors or the rise of AI, I’ve pulled out a handful of developments that feel genuinely new and useful for tourism operators.
The strongest theme this week is probably around how destinations and tourism businesses are making it easier for travellers and trade partners to package, understand and buy experiences, and there are a few good examples of that coming through from New Zealand, Europe and North America.
TRENZ 2027 is already on a waitlist, while TECNZ applications are still open
Last week I talked about the opening of TRENZ and TECNZ registrations, but there has already been a significant update.
TRENZ 2027 has moved to a seller waitlist because of what organisers are describing as unprecedented demand, despite seller applications only opening on 1 October. The event will take place in Christchurch from 11 to 13 May next year, and the speed at which seller space has filled is a pretty clear sign that there is strong appetite from New Zealand tourism businesses to invest in international trade activity again. TRENZ
For operators who missed out, I would not panic, because there is still a chance the waitlist will clear. There are also other trade activity options for you in the meantime.
The more immediate opportunity is the TECNZ Trade Event, where seller expressions of interest are open until 21 October. TECNZ connects New Zealand suppliers with the inbound tour operators and destination management companies that are already packaging and selling New Zealand, and sellers can expect up to 40 appointments across the two-day event. Tourism Export Council of New Zealand -
For smaller operators, I think it is worth being quite disciplined about this. Rather than attending because it feels like the right thing to do, ask whether your product is genuinely trade-ready, whether there are buyers you specifically need to meet, and whether you are prepared to follow up properly afterwards.
That is ultimately where the value sits.
Hawke’s Bay is about to host some very influential wine tourism visitors
From 18 to 22 October, Hawke’s Bay will host the Great Wine Capitals Annual Conference and AGM, bringing together representatives from leading wine regions around the world including Bordeaux, Napa Valley, Mendoza, Adelaide and others. Great Wine Capitals
This is interesting well beyond the wine industry itself.
These visitors are involved in destination development, international tourism, premium travel and wine tourism strategy, so there is a wider opportunity for Hawke’s Bay operators to be thinking about how they fit into the visitor experience around wine, food, conservation, accommodation and private touring.
For tourism businesses in regions like Hawke’s Bay, this is a good reminder that major industry events can create value even if you are not the headline product.
If your experience complements what those visitors are already in the region to see, there may be opportunities through formal networking, post-event follow-up, familiarisation activity or simply making sure the right local tourism organisations know what you offer.
I would be thinking particularly about experiences that add another layer to the destination, rather than trying to compete with the wineries themselves.
Tourism New Zealand is positioning wellbeing as more than spas and retreats
Tourism New Zealand launched a new Japanese campaign last week called Nourished by New Zealand: Body & Soul, with the aim of generating another 7,000 Japanese arrivals by promoting New Zealand as a place where travellers can reconnect with nature, enjoy great food and wine, and return home feeling refreshed. Tourism New Zealand
What I find useful about this campaign is the way wellbeing is being interpreted.
It is not being treated solely as a spa, yoga or retreat category. Instead, wellbeing is being connected with nature, food, landscapes, hospitality and meaningful experiences.
That opens up a much wider opportunity for tourism businesses.
A conservation experience, a quiet guided walk, a small-group wildlife encounter, a sailing trip or an owner-hosted experience in a beautiful natural environment can all sit within that broader motivation, provided the positioning feels authentic.
I would not recommend that every tourism business suddenly starts marketing itself as a wellness product, because that usually leads to fairly forced messaging, but it is worth considering whether the experience already delivers something that helps a traveller slow down, reconnect, learn or simply spend meaningful time in nature.
If it does, that may be a stronger selling point than we sometimes give it credit for.
EasyJet and Expedia are making the package almost invisible
EasyJet Holidays has partnered with Expedia Group to expand its city-break offering, giving customers access to thousands of additional hotels across 72 destinations.
The particularly interesting part is how simple the buying process has become. Someone booking a flight on easyJet.com can now add accommodation within the same journey and end up with a protected flight and hotel package without having to leave the booking environment or assemble everything separately. EasyJet
I think there is a useful lesson here for tourism operators, even though this is a much bigger distribution example.
Travellers generally do not want more admin.
If someone has already decided where they are staying, what else can they add easily? If they have booked an activity, what accommodation, transport or other experience logically goes with it?
The opportunity is not always about creating a formal package with a discounted price. Sometimes it is simply about making the next decision easier.
For a regional tourism business, that could mean working with accommodation partners so your experience is actively recommended after booking, developing easy two-day itineraries with neighbouring operators, or giving trade partners clear suggestions about which products work well together.
The less work the customer has to do to build the trip, the better.
A North American wholesaler is actively incentivising late-2026 bookings
Travel Answers, which sells Australia and New Zealand through the North American travel trade, is currently running an advisor incentive for bookings made by 31 October for travel departing by the end of December.
Depending on the booking value, advisors can earn Visa gift cards ranging from US$50 to US$250, and the promotion applies to qualifying land and air or land-only bookings. Travel Answers Group
I think this is worth noting because it is a very practical example of a wholesaler trying to stimulate short-lead demand rather than waiting for the traditional long-haul booking cycle to do the work.
For operators already contracted through North American wholesalers, there is an obvious question to ask: are there active campaigns or incentives running right now that you could support with availability, content or a strong product update?
We often spend a lot of time developing new trade relationships, but sometimes the faster commercial opportunity sits with partners who already know the destination and are actively trying to generate bookings.
That is why maintaining contact with wholesalers matters. You want to know when they need something to sell, rather than hearing about the campaign after it has finished.
Touring is moving towards staying longer in one place
Globus has launched a new Unpack and Explore style of touring for 2027, with itineraries designed around staying several nights in one destination and taking day trips into the surrounding region rather than changing hotels constantly. Globus Journeys
I really like this development because it has obvious implications for regional New Zealand.
Traditional touring can sometimes mean travellers arriving late, doing one major attraction and leaving again the following morning, which does not create much opportunity for local businesses beyond the headline product.
A slower model, where the traveller stays for several nights and explores outward from a regional base, creates space for additional experiences, independent time, food, retail and smaller activities that might otherwise never make it into the itinerary.
For places such as Taupō, Hawke’s Bay and other regional destinations, this is exactly the kind of touring behaviour we should want to encourage.
It also suggests that when talking to touring companies and wholesalers, operators should not only sell their own product. We should be helping buyers visualise why the traveller should stay another night in the destination.
If three or four complementary experiences collectively create a strong two or three-night proposition, that can be much more powerful than every operator trying to win an isolated half-day booking.
What I’d be thinking about this week
There are a few practical things I would take from these stories.
If TECNZ is relevant to your 2027 trade strategy, this is the week to make the decision because expressions of interest close on 21 October.
If you are already working with international wholesalers, check what they are actively trying to sell rather than waiting until your next annual contracting conversation, because the Travel Answers campaign is a good reminder that opportunities can emerge at any point in the year.
I would also take another look at how your product fits alongside other businesses in your region. The EasyJet and Globus developments are quite different, but both point towards the same thing: customers and trade partners value tourism products that are easier to combine into a complete trip.
And finally, I would keep an eye on the way visitor motivations are changing.
Tourism New Zealand’s Japanese campaign is a good example of how familiar experiences can become relevant to new audiences without fundamentally changing the product itself. Sometimes the opportunity is simply recognising a different reason why somebody might want what you already offer.
For me, that is probably the biggest takeaway this week.
You do not always need a new product or a new market. Sometimes you need a better understanding of how your existing experience fits into the trip the customer is already trying to build.
The Destinate Weekly Roundup is a regular look at the tourism sales, marketing, visitor-market and distribution developments worth paying attention to, with practical takeaways for New Zealand tourism businesses.
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