“Youth travellers are the biggest spenders in New Zealand. They stay a minimum of 8 weeks, and visit between 7 and 9 regions which gives us fantastic national dispersal.” New Zealand has historically championed backpacking and youth tourism, a segment of international travel that many destinations overlook. But is it high-yield? You bet. And it delivers priceless word-of-mouth advocacy. In tandem with a successful Working Holiday Visa scheme, world-class adventure travel offerings - think: skydiving, white-water rafting, mountain biking and bungee jumping - and innovative, high-experience hostel brands, youth travel continues to drive New Zealand’s visitor economy. This week, Gary chats with Rotorua-based Haydn Marriner, Board Chair of the Backpacker, Youth & Adventure Tourism Association of New Zealand (BYATA), to discuss its 5-year plan to further transform travel for adventure-seeking young people. A key tenet is building sector insights, benchmarking youth tourism performance and developing new adventure products. This will help build the case to secure "funding for growth" and enable the 18-35-year-old segment to power New Zealand's goal of doubling tourism turnover by 2050.