About Hamilton & Waikato Tourism
Hamilton & Waikato Tourism Ltd (HWT) is the official regional tourism organisation (RTO) for the mighty Waikato region of New Zealand. We grow the value of the visitor economy across Hamilton City, Waipā, Waikato and Matamata-Piako, delivering regional tourism services with investment from their four councils.
Our role is to attract domestic and Australian visitors and encourage them to stay longer, explore more and spend more. We do this through destination marketing, destination management and development, and support for the tourism industry. We promote the Waikato to leisure, business events and travel trade audiences, and lead regional product and event development, investment and sector capability. The aim is a visitor economy that delivers economic, social, environmental and cultural benefits for Waikato
Who we are
HWT was established on 1 July 2011 as the region's RTO. We are a wholly owned subsidiary of Waikato Regional Airport Ltd, with an independent governance board and a dedicated team.
Who invests in Hamilton & Waikato Tourism?
We operate as a public-private partnership. Our core investment comes from four councils under a three-year Service Level Agreement (2024–2027):
Hamilton City Council
Waipā District Council
Waikato District Council
Matamata-Piako District Council.
Council investment totaled $1,155,488 to YE June 2026. This investment enables our core work for the region:
Destination marketing: promoting the Waikato to visitors, media and the travel trade through campaigns, waikatonz.com (which attracts over 1.5 million views a year), social media and newsletters
Business events: attracting conferences, meetings and incentive travel through our convention bureau, including bids, famils and support for event organisers
Industry support: helping operators build capability, become trade-ready and use visitor data and insights
Advocacy and representation: representing the region's tourism interests with central government and Tourism New Zealand and at national and international industry events, and giving the sector a coordinated regional voice when it faces challenges
Destination management: leading the Waikato Destination Management Plan with councils, iwi, industry and communities.
The tourism industry also invests through our Membership programme and joint venture campaigns, and we secure central government investment for specific programmes.
We report to our council partners every six months against agreed deliverables and KPIs.
See how council investment works
Our role in New Zealand's tourism system
The Government's Tourism Policy Statement (June 2026) gives local government the lead on domestic destination marketing and destination management, and describes RTOs as "a critical delivery mechanism at a destination level". Hamilton & Waikato Tourism delivers these roles for our four districts, working alongside Tourism New Zealand, which leads international marketing.
What is a regional tourism organisation?
What we do
Leisure and trade marketing
Our marketing includes domestic consumer campaigns, our regional website waikatonz.com and social media channels, media and travel trade activity, familiarisations, sales meetings and trips, and trade shows. We work with key partners including Tourism New Zealand, travel trade and neighbouring RTOs.
Local tourism businesses can invest alongside us through our Membership programme and joint venture opportunities across consumer, trade and business events activity. Working together as a region gives us the scale to compete in a highly competitive domestic and international market.
Convention bureau and business events
We help organisers plan business events in the Waikato, including conferences, meetings, networking functions, workshops and special events. We can suggest venues and support services, share team-building ideas, and prepare full proposals and conference bids.
Destination management and product development
HWT leads the region's Destination Management Plan and provides leadership on regional product development, sector investment and industry capability building, through workshops, resources and tools. We work with councils and tourism operators to strengthen the region's visitor proposition, experiences and infrastructure. An underlying kaupapa of the Plan and our work is regenerative tourism and stewardship of the region across the four wellbeings: economic, social, environmental and cultural.
Read the Destination Management Plan snapshot
Statement of Intent and reports
To request a copy of our Statement of Intent or our latest report to councils, email info@waikatonz.com.
Learn more about us
What is a regional tourism organisation?
Council investment and governance
Why tourism matters to the Waikato
How Hamilton & Waikato Tourism works
Contact us
Hamilton & Waikato Tourism, Airport Road, RD2, Hamilton 3282
Phone: +64 7 843 0056
Email: info@waikatonz.com