Featured Activities
If you’re passionate about sustainability, you’ve come to the right place.
The word ‘wao’ comes from the Maori kupu for forest. In this case, the forest is in reference to different parts of a system that all interlink. It’s this image that the Wao charitable trust hopes to emulate – an interlinking system in our communities that includes tourism, building, food, hospitality, youth and business.
Wao believes that we have a responsibility to leave this place better than we found it. And as a charitable trust powered by volunteers, their mission is to educate, inspire and enable communities to accelerate towards a carbon-zero future.
Massive change is coming and Wao wants to help communities through this transition. They do this by working with key groups like youth or business community. Wao helps these groups to develop a vision and strategy for a sustainable future and then works towards mapping out that vision.
Wao also puts on the annual Wao Summit each Spring in Wānaka.
With 40+ events taking place over six days, the Wao Summit focuses on sustainability and regenerative future across many disciplines and industries. There is literally something for everyone.
Browsing the Summit event schedule, you might find yourself overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of events to attend. Wao have broken down each event into six categories; workshops, korero, films, tours, hui and lunches. Each category is represented with a colour code that you can find in the bottom right corner of the event schedule.
You’ll also see that each event has a helpful description and a ‘Who is this for’ indicator. So, you can easily decide which events are for you.
The Wao Summit really is all about making sustainability accessible to all.
Lake Wānaka Tourism, Destination Queenstown and the Queenstown Lakes District have recognized that tourism plays a crucial role in our region’s economy. COVID-19 has given us a unique opportunity to rethink tourism’s purpose.
Regenerative Tourism by 2030; a destination management plan is how we do this. The plan is being formulated with the help of community stakeholders, expert groups and locals. The aim is reimagining the tourism sector, enriching this place and its people now and into the future.
