{"id":206653,"date":"2025-12-29T12:16:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T12:16:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/206653\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T12:16:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T12:16:14","slug":"intrepid-travel-nz-boss-on-growth-haka-tours-deal-and-ai-plans-for-2026-summer-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/206653\/","title":{"rendered":"Intrepid Travel NZ boss on growth, Haka Tours deal and AI plans for 2026 – Summer questions"},"content":{"rendered":"What opportunities do you see in 2026?<\/p>\n
Expansion and growth are front of mind. We\u2019re in a strong position to scale, with real potential to expand our domestic offerings and build experiences that develop our team\u2019s capabilities. Travellers are increasingly seeking meaningful, small-group adventures \u2013 and that\u2019s exactly what we deliver.<\/p>\n
How are you using AI to change your business?<\/p>\n
AI is central to our growth strategy. We\u2019re using it to optimise tour scheduling and make our data analytics more actionable. It\u2019s about working smarter \u2013 freeing our team to focus on what matters most: delivering exceptional travel experiences. You\u2019ll see a significant uplift in our AI capabilities throughout 2026.<\/p>\n
What will be the key election issue in 2026 and why?<\/p>\n
Like most Kiwis and businesses, we want stability. We\u2019ve made hard-won progress on recovery \u2013 now we need to maintain that momentum without unnecessary disruption.<\/p>\n
How do you think the New Zealand economy will perform in 2026?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m optimistic about continued recovery, with tourism playing a critical role. The sector\u2019s resilience has been proven and there\u2019s a strong appetite for what New Zealand offers, both domestically and internationally.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s the worst mistake you\u2019ve made in business and what did you learn from it?<\/p>\n
I wouldn\u2019t frame them as mistakes, but I\u2019ve certainly had my share of learning moments. The key is maintaining a growth mindset \u2013 being willing to acknowledge when something hasn\u2019t worked and adjusting course quickly. That humility and adaptability have been invaluable.<\/p>\n
What would you rate as your greatest success?<\/p>\n
Prioritising family above everything else. At the end of the day, when the wins and losses of business fade, it\u2019s your family who remain your biggest advocates and supporters. Getting that balance right is what true success looks like.<\/p>\n
Where and how are you holidaying this summer?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m relatively new to the role, so I\u2019ll be in Auckland supporting the team through what will be an incredibly busy summer season. There\u2019s nowhere I\u2019d rather be \u2013 seeing our tours come to life is its own reward.<\/p>\n
What would you recommend as a good book\/podcast to read\/listen to during summer?<\/p>\n
What a Lad podcast. It\u2019s entertaining but substantive \u2013 great insights from New Zealand sports stars on their journeys to success. Easy listening with plenty of takeaways.<\/p>\n
Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald covering small business, retail and tourism.<\/p>\n
Stay ahead with the latest market moves, corporate updates, and economic insights by subscribing to our Business newsletter<\/a> \u2013 your essential weekly round-up of all the business news you need.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What opportunities do you see in 2026? Expansion and growth are front of mind. We\u2019re in a strong…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":206654,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[2246,1443,3017,365,95,4282,138,9084,2841,3468,2082,3499,31423,10938,126190,93,126191,111,43,139,69,90,2171,17146,6926,6037,14040,14625,301,1361,196,274,54949,80],"class_list":["post-206653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-2246","tag-about","tag-ahead","tag-ai","tag-and","tag-boss","tag-business","tag-challenges","tag-country","tag-deal","tag-for","tag-growth","tag-haka","tag-herald","tag-intrepid","tag-manager","tag-mckearney","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-on","tag-plans","tag-questions","tag-season","tag-simon","tag-spend","tag-summer","tag-talks","tag-that","tag-tours","tag-travel","tag-travels","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=206653"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/206653\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/206654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=206653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=206653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=206653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}