The Government has invested in initiatives to help ensure New Zealand tourism experiences are visible and accessible to international visitors through artificial intelligence.
Tourism and Hospitality Minister Louise Upston said a growing number of people are using AI search to explore destination options and plan their holidays. The government wanted to make sure New Zealand showed up strongly when they did.
The Government has invested NZD 800,000 from the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) in upgrading Tourism New Zealand’s systems so local tourism services and products become easier to find through AI search.
It will also help ensure the information provided is correct, improving visitors’ experience of planning, booking and visiting.
“This is about making sure people anywhere in the world can use AI to get real options about a New Zealand holiday, tailored to their preferences, including great places to stay, things to do, and experiences across the country, with easy booking links,” said Upston.
Part of the investment will make Tourism New Zealand’s database ‘AI-ready’, improving how information about thousands of tourism and hospitality businesses can be structured so AI tools can more easily access and extract it.
Upston mentioned that, at present, some of New Zealand’s amazing tourism operators are harder to find via AI than they should be.
“We are fixing that, so more businesses can connect with the visitors who are already looking for what they offer. This will help build the tourism industry’s future, and in turn the jobs and economic growth tourism drives.”
The Government has also invested in expanding Tourism New Zealand’s AI travel assistant. The expansion will add more detailed information from regional tourism organisations to improve the accessibility of AI search results for people actively considering a visit to New Zealand.
According to Upston, this would help visitors discover more of New Zealand, including what’s off the beaten track, such as better trip ideas, personalised recommendations, and more reasons to stay longer and explore further.
The AI investment has supported the Government’s goal of doubling the value of tourism exports from 2023 levels by 2034, as well as increasing the number of Kiwis in tourism and hospitality jobs.
It also supported the Government’s goal to increase international visitors to at least 2019 (pre-pandemic) levels by the end of 2026, which is currently at 94 percent, up 24 percent more than at the end of 2023.
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