Queenstown has a way of calling you higher. At Destination Think’s forum in Aotearoa New Zealand, the conversation moved beyond “more visitors” to “more meaning” — how tourism can connect people, protect nature, and inspire change that benefits everyone.
But what stood out most was seeing that this isn’t just about purpose — it’s about performance. Across Queenstown and Lake Wanaka, we witnessed firsthand how sustainability, once viewed as a moral compass, is now driving real business results. Hotels are cutting waste and energy costs, transport operators are electrifying fleets and saving on fuel, and innovators are turning by-products into profit. The technology to do this isn’t futuristic — it exists today, empowering destinations to make measurable impact and build healthier bottom lines.
Hosted at Sherwood — one of the world’s most sustainable hotels, powered by the sun and closing the loop on waste — we heard bold, practical ambitions: electrified transport to ease congestion, a mass-transit gondola under consideration, farms shifting off fossil fuels, entrepreneurs reusing waste, and councils backing regional electrification. The momentum is clear: when sustainability and innovation align, everyone wins.
When storytelling, sustainability, and technology align, tourism becomes more than an industry — it becomes a force for transformation.
Every destination has stories waiting to be told — of people doing extraordinary things for their communities and the environment. The local farmer switching to electric equipment. The chef sourcing ingredients from local and regenerative farms. Hotel owners closing the loop on waste. These stories don’t just make visitors feel good — they model new behaviors and inspire change that ripples outward. Destination marketers have a powerful opportunity to elevate these local heroes, to turn their innovation into inspiration, and to create the kind of travel that benefits both community and planet.
And that’s where technology helps amplify impact. Travelers increasingly trust AI from inspiration through booking. If your destination’s voice isn’t present in those moments, someone else is shaping the story.
That’s why we built Envoy, Tiki’s conversational AI ad unit. Envoy meets travel intenders across premium publisher content and invites a one-to-one conversation — before they ever reach your website. It surfaces your best experiences, sets expectations around stewardship, and nudges travelers toward more responsible choices. Partners regularly see strong engagement (often 8–9% CTR) because the conversation is useful, human, and immediate.
Tiki is a strategic partner with Destination Think. On World Tourism Day 2024, Destination Think launched 100 Travel Innovations, a global campaign created with 70 destinations to spotlight real, scalable solutions advancing regenerative tourism.
For World Tourism Day 2025, they continued that momentum with 24 Hours of Travel Innovation, a live global event connecting destinations and changemakers across time zones to share ideas shaping the future of travel. Learn more →
Our role: help ensure those ideas meet travelers where they’re actively planning — and turn inspiration into action. Many of these same stories celebrate the businesses and innovators in Queenstown we heard from at this year’s conference — a reminder that local action, when amplified, fuels global transformation.
Putting AI to work doesn’t need a moonshot or a risky rebuild. It takes one safe step:
The result? More of the right visitors, better prepared, staying longer, spending locally — and doing it with care.
If Queenstown reminded us of anything, it’s this: the future favors destinations brave enough to design for meaning and measure for impact.
Ready to see Envoy in action?
Book a 30-minute demo → and discover how to put conversational AI to work for your destination — safely, simply, and performance-first.
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