Tainui Waka Tourism
Tainui Waka Tourism
“We know that the international market is very interested in the creative sector, the cultural sector,” Craig says. “If we can attract more international visitors, that would be of great benefit to all our operators, to our wider community, our hospitality sector and so on.”
Tainui Waka Tourism’s vision statement, “Taakiri tuu te koorero ki te ao – Sharing our stories with the world,” reflects a philosophy centred on cultural preservation, creativity and collective wellbeing. Since its establishment, the Waikato-based organisation has worked to support communities across the Tainui confederation region; Waikato, Raukawa, Maniapoto and Hauraki, by promoting Māori tourism experiences that place culture and people at the centre.
For chairperson Lee Ann Muntz and secretariat Craig Muntz, the work has always been deeply personal. Their background in cultural tourism and the arts includes kapa haka, international festivals and indigenous exchange programmes that have connected Waikato communities to the wider world.
“For at least the last couple of decades we’ve been hosting visitors internationally,” Lee Ann explains. “From a Māori perspective too, you’re always hosting people.”
That instinct to care for and uplift visitors, became the foundation for a tourism model anchored in reciprocity rather than transaction. Early exchanges with the Americans for Indian Opportunity ambassador programme created a pathway that has seen Waikato artists, performers and cultural practitioners building enduring relationships with indigenous communities overseas.
“What we did is we designed the experience and the itinerary based on all our friends and what they had to showcase in their communities,” Lee Ann says. “That started us off in terms of hosting and bespoke itineraries.”
Those exchanges continue more than twenty years later, evolving into collaborations between artists, cultural leaders and communities across continents. But while the connections are international, the purpose remains strongly local: creating opportunities for Waikato communities to thrive.
For Craig, creativity is embedded in everything the organisation does.
“Creativity actually lies at the core of all of our events and projects,” he says. “Even though we’re wearing a cultural tourism hat, it’s the way those narratives are shared, those experiences are shared…you need to be creative.”
That creativity emerges in countless ways. Visitors may experience carving demonstrations, waka journeys along the Waikato River, contemporary exhibitions, marae stays, weaving workshops or storytelling tours through public art installations. The common thread is that every experience is framed by authentic narratives shared by the communities themselves.
Tainui Waka Tourism operates as a voluntary Māori regional tourism organisation, the only one of its kind representing the Tainui Waka region. And the organisation has continued advocating for Māori tourism operators, artists and cultural practitioners for more than fifteen years.
That advocacy often means thinking beyond conventional models and finding ways to directly support artists and creative practitioners. One significant example was the revival of the Tupuna Awa collection by celebrated artist Fred Graham.
The collection, consisting of fourteen sculptural works representing sites of significance along the Waikato River from Ruapehu to Port Waikato, had been sitting in storage for years before Craig intervened.
“I thought, well, what’s happened to that collection?” he recalls. “They’re just sitting here in the back shed with cobwebs on them.”
Craig approached Graham about exhibiting the works as part of the Waikato River Festival. The resulting exhibition at the Sir Don Rowlands Event Centre in Cambridge became the first time the renowned artist had exhibited the collection within his rohe.
The impact extended far beyond a single exhibition. The artworks were restored, displayed publicly and eventually purchased by the Waikato River Authority Trust under two conditions set by Graham: the collection remain together, and continue benefiting the public rather than entering private ownership.
“So from a community perspective, a wonderful outcome,” Craig says. “The artist benefited and the wider public benefited.”
Lee Ann says the public value of the collection continues today, with the artworks now housed at the Waikato Museum while still remaining available for regional exhibitions.
The project highlights one of Tainui Waka Tourism’s strengths of acting as a connector between artists, institutions, tourism opportunities and local communities.
For many international visitors, Māori cultural tourism has long been associated almost exclusively with Rotorua. Tainui Waka Tourism is determined to broaden that narrative and establish Waikato District as a major cultural destination in its own right.
One ambitious project saw the organisation collaborate with a Taiwanese television production company to create three episodes of a 26 episode travel series showcasing a Māori cultural experience based at Maurea Marae and Rangiriri Paa. The three episodes incorporated story-telling, history, Māori language and customary protocols and art forms such as weaving, carving, haka, poi, weaponry, kaupapa waka & hāngī preparation.
“From a promotional point of view, it is a massive platform to showcase the Waikato region and the district,” Craig says. “It’s about changing the industry narrative that Māori culture can only be found in Rotorua. In fact, Māori cultural experiences are available throughout the country.”
The economic implications are significant. International visitors are often drawn to authentic cultural experiences, and increased visitation has the potential to support artists, tourism operators, accommodation providers and hospitality businesses across the wider region.
“We know that the international market is very interested in the creative sector, the cultural sector,” Craig says. “If we can attract more international visitors, that would be of great benefit to all our operators, to our wider community, our hospitality sector and so on.”
For Lee Ann, tourism is never solely about economics. It is also about sustaining creative practice and ensuring artists can continue doing the work they love.
“It’s important to support the artists because it’s their passion,” she says. “They need to put bread and butter on the table. But if we can bring through the numbers, that can sustain them to continue doing what they are passionate about.”
That support can have a profound personal impact. Craig points to recent exchanges with the Seminole Tribe of Florida, where Māori tā moko artists travelled overseas to share their practice and cultural knowledge.
“One of those artists wasn’t really engaged in that art form,” he says. “But those exchanges provided him with the incentive to actually go back full-time into working in that space.”
Today, hundreds of tribal members in Florida wear designs created by Waikato artists. They are living artworks carrying stories from New Zealand across the world. Craig says the process went much deeper than visual artistry.
“Each one of those sessions have been healing sessions for the participants involved,” he explains. “Tā moko is a very different process where the individual and the artist sit down and kōrero about their pathways, their history, their story.”
The result is not simply tattooing, but cultural exchange and emotional connection.
“You have an artistic outcome, but you also have a cultural outcome in terms of engagement, and you have a healing outcome,” Craig says. “That’s just one example of where creativity can address wellbeing across multiple fronts.”
That recognition around the importance of connection also shapes the organisation’s local collaborations. During a recent group visit, guests enjoyed a walking and e-bike tour, visited cultural art installations, listened to narratives about public sculptures and travelled by waka along the river before continuing north to Ngāruawāhia.
“It provides an opportunity to collaborate with each other,” Lee Ann says, referring to local operators and businesses.
For the operators themselves, the collaboration became a source of inspiration and momentum. “To bring the whānau who delivered it back together, it’s like, wow, that was actually pretty cool,” she says.
Underlying much of Tainui Waka Tourism’s work is the Waikato River itself, a constant thread through stories, histories and identity across the region.
“The environment is part of our creative platform,” Craig says. “By connecting people to the awa, we’re also encouraging greater understanding of the need to enhance the physical wellbeing of that place.”
The river is viewed both as a tourism destination and cultural ancestor, and protecting it is inseparable from promoting it.
“If it’s polluted, then obviously that diminishes the potential from a cultural and tourism perspective,” Craig says. “It needs to be protected and enhanced.”
Looking ahead, Tainui Waka Tourism sees enormous potential in upcoming events such as Te Matatini 2027, which will be hosted at Hopuhopu in February. The organisation is advocating for a dedicated hub that would showcase both established and emerging Māori artists during the event. The goal is not only to support the festival itself, but to create long-term benefits for artists and the wider regional economy.
“How do we make it a greater opportunity for our artists and for our creative sector in our region?” Craig asks.
That question captures the essence of Tainui Waka Tourism’s mission. Every exhibition, exchange, tour or cultural experience is designed with legacy in mind. It’s not simply what visitors take away, but what communities gain in return. And at its core, the organisation’s work is about ensuring stories continue to live through people, relationships and creative practice.
“If you aren’t sharing those narratives, they are lost,” Craig says. “Cultural tourism provides an opportunity for all those narratives to be shared, to be learned, and then shared again.”
Through celebrating creative practice and cultural exchange, Tainui Waka Tourism is ensuring they play an important role, one that reaches out globally while continuing to strengthen the communities that hold them close.