Kiri Goulter has 25 years’ experience in tourism and economic development in New Zealand and specialises in destination management planning and implementation. Kiri led the development of the New Zealand Government’s (MBIE) Destination Management Guidelines and is currently the Director of Destination Management for Regional Tourism New Zealand.
In 2009 Kiri led the establishment of Hamilton & Waikato Tourism (HWT) which required regaining support from the region’s seven local authorities and tourism industry after the previous RTO was disbanded four years earlier. Four years later she successfully increased HWT’s local government funding by 50% to broaden the RTO’s activities to also focus on developing and managing the destination.
Prior to the Waikato, Kiri was the Development Manager at Tourism New Zealand, responsible for assisting New Zealand’s tourism industry to deliver on the 100% PURE brand promise. This involved liaising across government agencies and assisting regions and sectors with strategy and experience development.
From 2003-2007 Kiri successfully developed and managed the implementation of a $3.5m New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) funded Major Regional Initiative (MRI) in Northland focused on improving the performance of the region’s tourism sector, and working with communities along the Twin Coast Discovery Highway to capture benefits from visitors.
Kiri has held governance roles in tourism, economic development and education, and is currently a director of Waikato Institute of Technology (Wintec) and Trustee of Te Awa River Ride. Kiri is passionate about the role destination management plays in enabling a more sustainable, resilient, inclusive and productive system and sector that delivers value for visitors and residents alike.

Tim Bamford - Chief Advisor, Department of Conservation

Tim Bamford is the Chief Advisor Biodiversity Heritage and Visitor at the Department of Conservation.
His work is focused on ensuring that DOC’s biodiversity heritage and visitor priorities are clear and support DOC’s purpose of ensuring Papatūānuku thrives.
He has previously been DOC’s acting heritage and visitor director, and was involved in the development of the New Zealand-Aotearoa government tourism strategy, and DOC’s heritage and visitor strategy.

Billie Moore - CEO, NZ Airports 

Billie is the Chief Executive of the NZ Airports Association, the industry association for New Zealand’s airports and related businesses. Its members operate 46 airports around the country and support a safe, sustainable and resilient air transport network for Aotearoa.
A former diplomat, Billie worked for Labour and National Ministers in foreign affairs and trade positions in the Beehive from 2008-2014. She served as New Zealand’s Consul-General to New South Wales and Queensland from 2015-2019 before returning to Wellington to lead government relations for Tourism New Zealand.
Prior to joining NZ Airports, Billie worked as Chief Advisor at the Ministry for the Environment focused on improving partner and stakeholder engagement.

Heather Kirkam - Ministry of Business Industry & Enterprise

Heather Kirkham is the General Manager, Tourism at Hīkina Whakatutuki, Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment.
She previously worked in a range of senior roles in both the public and private sectors, including the UK and New Zealand Treasuries.
She has been an economic advisor to the then Minister of Finance, Hon Dr Michael Cullen, and held senior roles at Contact Energy and NZX.
Immediately prior to this role she was a Director at MBIE responsible for the establishment of Regional Skills Leadership Groups.

Session 3: Innovation and Integration

Rebecca Ingram - Chief Executive Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA)

TIA is New Zealand’s only independent association that represents all sectors of New Zealand’s large and diverse tourism industry. Representing 1200 member businesses from small owner/operators to large publicly listed tourism corporates and international hotel chains, TIA is striving for New Zealand to be world-leaders in ‘next generation’ tourism – tourism for good. Tourism that brings value to those who travel here and to those who live here.
Prior to joining TIA, Rebecca spent seven years at Tourism New Zealand (TNZ), where she held various roles including General Manager of New Zealand and Government Relations. She was previously responsible for TNZ’s PR and Major Events, leading a global team across 10 markets in highlighting the best of what New Zealand has to offer to visitors.
Rebecca has 20 years of leadership, marketing and communications expertise, with proven experience delivering successful business strategies, engagement and advocacy programmes and leading complex transformation in her time at both Spark (then Telecom) and Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand.

Michelle Morss - General Manager - Strategy and Policy, Queenstown Lakes District Council

Currently managing a portfolio that includes Economic Development, Strategic Growth, Policy, Risk and Climate Action and the local government reform programme, Michelle has worked for QLDC for the past eight years. She is the primary QLDC liaison for the delivery of the district’s first Destination Management Plan, and its keystone project to decarbonise the tourism system.
Prior to accepting the role to head up this new division with QLDC, Michelle’s focus was on pandemic recovery across the economic, environmental, social and cultural aspects of community wellbeing.
With a background in the private sector, she started and grew a group of companies across Asia Pacific, working and living in Australia, Singapore and China.
Today she is pleased to call Glenorchy home.

Wendy van Lieshout - Active Adventures (NZ) and Austin Adventures (USA)

Wendy is the CEO of Active Adventures, New Zealand’s largest and most globally diverse adventure travel company, and Austin Adventures, their 100% subsidiary in Montana, USA. The company operates scheduled, small group, fully inclusive adventure tours in New Zealand, North & South America, Europe, the Himalayas, and Africa with a focus on hiking, biking and kayaking. Their primary source market is the USA.
Wendy leads a team of 40 office staff based in Queenstown and Christchurch (NZ), the USA, the Netherlands and Peru, and over 100 guides globally.
With 20 years’ senior executive and governance experience in inbound and outbound tourism, she excels at strategic business planning, growth and entrepreneurship.
She’s a graduate of the University of Canterbury and Otago University’s Executive Education programme, Vice Chair of the Tourism Export Council New Zealand (TECNZ), Vice Chair of Queenstown Business, and was previously a board member of the Travel Agents Association of New Zealand (TAANZ). She’s also a Chartered Member of the New Zealand Institute of Directors and a global Ambassador for the ATTA (Adventure Travel Trade Association).

Michael Nees - Virtual Journeys NZ

In the late 1980's Michael Nees began work in New Zealand as a tour guide for German-speaking small tour groups. In the mid 1990's, he established one of the first e-commerce websites. For the past decade he has been designing high-end travel itineraries. Currently he is exploring the possibilities and potential of technology to create innovative and immersive tourism experiences.
Michael has developed a range of Virtual Journeys that are so much more than just a video - they are an immersive experience for the senses and the closest thing to really being there.
Michael’s ‘imagine this’ approach and long-term thinking, place him as an innovative leader in our sector.
Michael shares his concerns for the climate challenges we now face, and our need to be adaptive and resilient. He recognises the urgent need to think differently about tourism models, and has a deep desire not to go back to business as usual, but instead to explore how tourism can reduce its carbon footprint and still serve travellers through immersive storytelling.
His invitation to listeners is to take a long-term view of our sector, consider the potential that technological innovations offer tourism and to open our minds to embracing an entirely different path.

Session 4: Leadership and Policy Development

Glenys Coughlan - Industry leader and strategist

A graduate of the Universities of Otago (BA Hons), Hawaii (MA) and Auckland (MBA), Glenys has a career in tourism that spans an early project for the then NZTP that explored “the implications of tourism growth” and the privatisation of Air New Zealand where she lead the development of the Destination New Zealand Strategy. That strategy resulted in the establishment of Tourism New Zealand.
As Chair of the Pacific Asia Travel Associations Advisory Council she developed the Values Based Tourism model and as Chief Executive of TIA (now Tourism Industry Aotearoa) working alongside Cristine Angus she championed an ‘industry led, market driven’ national tourism strategy that lead to the development of the Office of Tourism and Sport.
Glenys has been Chair of Positively Wellington Tourism, a Director of Tourism New Zealand and a Director of Te Papa. She has served on the Board of ATEED, (Auckland Unlimited), Dunedin Venues Management Ltd and Sounds Air.
In 2019 Glenys was awarded the Sir Jack Newman Outstanding Industry Award.
Currently working as an independent consultant, Glenys continues to have an active hand in transformational aviation and tourism development initiatives.

Joseph Mooney - National Party Spokesperson for Tourism

Joseph Mooney MP is the MP for Southland and the National Party Spokesperson for the Space, Treaty Negotiations, Forestry and Tourism portfolios. He also holds an Associate Spokesperson role in Agriculture.
Joseph is a member of the Primary Production Select Committee, and the Parliamentary Service Commission Artworks Committee.
Before being elected the MP for Southland, Joseph was a senior trial lawyer, affiliated to the Southland Branch Council of the New Zealand Law Society. He was appointed to the Crown Prosecution Panel for the Invercargill Crown Solicitor by the Deputy Solicitor General in 2017. He was a Youth Advocate appointed by the Court.
Joseph has been an Army reservist and volunteer firefighter and in his spare time he likes to ski, mountain bike, and spend time with his family.
He lives in Queenstown with his family.