“You can’t help conservation and help the planet if you’re not profitable. You’ve always got to have that balance.”
Two years into his role as chief executive of RealNZ, Dave Beeche is applying lessons from a career in major sports events to New Zealand’s tourism industry. “Our purpose is to help the world fall in love with conservation,” Beeche says, “and all our experiences are built around being unique, authentic, and extraordinary.”
That philosophy runs through RealNZ’s portfolio, which spans a 112-year-old steamship on Lake Wakatipu, Queenstown’s iconic ski fields, and a fleet of vessels across Milford and Doubtful Sounds. So, what does it look like when a tourism company builds its entire strategy around conservation?
At the heart of it all sits the Doubtful Sound overnight cruise, which Beeche calls the company’s most iconic experience. Guests cross Lake Manapouri, wind over Wilmot Pass, and cruise the fjord before the boat’s crew cuts the engines the next morning in a ritual 70 years in the making.
“The skipper typically turns off the engines, turns off the generators, asks everyone to put their phones down… and this experience has been going for 70 years, they call it the sound of silence,” Beeche explains. The effect, he says, is visceral. “I tell you, the tears streaming down people’s faces just from being in that environment.”
It’s a moment that captures Beeche’s broader theory of nature-positive tourism; investing directly in conservation (RealNZ funds predator removal, planting programmes, and a fundraiser for an endangered dotterel population) while also using guest experiences to change behaviour long after the trip ends, from Cardrona’s rubbish-bin-free slopes to storytelling that follows travellers home.
None of it works, Beeche is careful to add, without a solid business case behind it. “You can’t help conservation and help the planet if you’re not profitable,” he says, pointing to the balancing act of running a marine fleet that still burns significant diesel while the company hunts for viable electric and hydrofoil alternatives.
He’s also direct about the industry’s next disruption, saying artificial intelligence is already reshaping how travellers find and book trips. “ChatGPT is now showing up in our referrals for direct bookings, multiples of percentage points higher every month,” he notes, describing a shift from traditional search-engine optimisation to what he calls AI optimisation. Beeche also pushes back on the idea that New Zealand is too remote to compete for global travellers, saying “We’re only a long-haul flight away… it’s not actually that bad flying 12 to 13 hours from China, the US, or what have you.”
As RealNZ leans further into what Beeche calls becoming more “purpose-led”, the question becomes, can a tourism company prove that protecting nature and turning a profit aren’t just compatible, but mutually reinforcing?
WiT Queenstown is happening on July 20 – 21 at the Queenstown Memorial Center. Steve Bruce, Chief Customer and Sales Officer, RealNZ will be on the Kiwi Legends panel to share what it takes to build enduring brands, deliver world-class experiences, and evolve in a changing visitor economy – while staying true to what makes this place unique. We’re officially sold out, but you can join the Waitlist here.
