How Destination Marketing is Evolving to Support a Regenerative Visitor Economy in Queenstown Lakes
The Destination Marketing Evolution initiative is rethinks how the region tells its story, moving beyond traditional promotion to a values-led model that champions people, place and purpose. This evolution is central to building a tourism system that genuinely benefits the environment, communities and the economy.
From attraction to advocacy: a new marketing model
Destination marketing will always play a vital role in generating demand, but the region’s destination marketing now centres around shaping demand to support the needs of the region. Instead of focusing solely on attracting volume of visitors, the evolved marketing model developed by Destination Queenstown and Lake Wānaka Tourism prioritises visitors whose values align with the vision and values of the district.
This means moving beyond the traditional “dream | plan | book” funnel model, to one that reflects the full visitor journey. By adding in-destination engagement and post-visit advocacy, the strategy creates a virtuous cycle where visitors are encouraged not just to arrive, but to connect meaningfully with the place, participate in experiences that reflect community values, and share stories that influence future visitors.
The evolved marketing approach, developed by Destination Queenstown and Lake Wānaka Tourism, is focused on shaping demand specifically towards high-contributing visitors - travellers who align with the region’s regenerative vision.
So who is a high contributing visitor?
High-contributing visitors essentially display the same qualities as a “temporary local”. They take the time to connect with people and place, appreciating our culture, forging relationships, and giving back in meaningful ways - from supporting conservation projects and learning our stories, to spreading their spend across local businesses and giving back to the region’s community funds.
By staying longer, travelling outside peak times, and choosing experiences that align with regenerative values, they strengthen the year-round visitor economy, protect local culture, and contribute to environmental goals. Their legacy extends beyond their visit, supporting initiatives such as Love Queenstown and Love Wānaka and helping to shift tourism away from short-stay, high-impact travel toward a model that leaves a positive footprint.
Building reputation through values and storytelling
The strategy places emphasis on reputation-building. Instead of promoting only what the region offers, it shares why the region places emphasis on its values, cultural heritage, and regenerative vision.
This approach ensures marketing is aligned with the wider Destination Management Plan (DMP) and its principles of community wellbeing, decarbonisation, and economic resilience. It also creates space to include Kāi Tahu narratives and local identity, supporting place-based storytelling that feels authentic and grounded in community values.
Progressing the Queenstown Place Brand
The Destination Marketing Evolution initiative is central to the Travel to a Thriving Future plan. Within the plan is a commitment to place-based destination planning, recognising that the way Queenstown Lakes is represented should be grounded in the identity, values and aspirations of its communities. This includes aligning marketing and communications with community values, plans and a regenerative mindset, while evolving the region’s brand and marketing strategies to support the wider goals of the plan.
Over the past year, Destination Queenstown has progressed the Queenstown Place Brand project led by destination strategy consultants Destination Think, using their Place DNA® methodology. Place DNA® is designed to uncover the distinctive characteristics, values, stories and sense of place that sit at the heart of a destination and can provide the foundation for how it is represented. The research brought together desk and on-the-ground research, stakeholder and iwi interviews, and community and industry workshops to build a deeper understanding of Queenstown’s identity and, key place attributes. Findings were shared with stakeholders in June 2026, then incorporated into the Place DNA® Analysis and Report.
The next phase will focus on translating these insights into an evolved Queenstown place brand and marketing strategy. This will create a stronger foundation for how Queenstown is represented, ensuring future storytelling is grounded in the people, place and values that make Queenstown distinctive, while supporting the wider ambition for a regenerative visitor economy.
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