Smart Planner is actively seeking to engage with and support community, environmental, cultural and social-impact projects across New Zealand’s South Island, inviting local organisations and community leaders to help shape the future of the Smart Planner platform itself. As part of its commitment to regenerative and sustainable tourism, Smart Planner is positioning the platform not just as a discovery tool, but as a shared digital ecosystem built collaboratively with the communities it serves.

Projects and initiatives will be listed on the Smart Planner platform at no cost. This allows visitors to easily discover community-led initiatives through search, learn about their purpose, and add them directly into their travel itineraries alongside accommodation and activities. Visitors will be able to plan time to engage with projects, understand schedules, contact coordinators, and explore opportunities to contribute meaningfully during their stay.

However, Smart Planner believes the real impact comes from working together. Beyond listings, the platform has the potential to become a deeper engagement channel, enabling responsible visitor participation, clearer communication between visitors and project coordinators, and better alignment with local sustainability and regenerative goals. To achieve this, Smart Planner is inviting community organisations, councils and project coordinators to partner with the team, share insights, provide feedback, and help shape platform features so they genuinely reflect local needs, processes and values.

This collaborative approach ensures Smart Planner evolves as a platform that supports community-led initiatives, strengthens local outcomes, and enhances the visitor experience in a way that respects place, people and environment.

As part of its pilot phase, Smart Planner has committed to supporting Love Queenstown and Love Wanaka, the first two destinations where the platform will be trialled.

Love Queenstown and Love Wanaka are destination stewardship initiatives that encourage visitors and locals alike to care for the environment, respect local culture, and give back to the community. They promote responsible travel behaviours, support local projects, and champion initiatives that protect the natural and social fabric of their regions, helping ensure these destinations remain vibrant and resilient for generations to come.

Their supported projects will be listed on the Smart Planner platform, allowing users to easily find them through the Smart Planner mobile app, learn more about the initiatives, understand how to engage, donate, and add them to their itinerary, enabling visitors to make these projects part of their experience while staying in the cities.

Are you in Queenstown or Wanaka and would you like to list a project?

Use this link to access the registration form:

>>>Community Project Registration Form<<<

Looking Ahead

This partnership-first approach marks an important step in Smart Planner’s journey. By working hand in hand with communities, Smart Planner aims to co-create a shared platform that empowers visitors to engage responsibly, amplifies community-led initiatives, and advances regenerative and sustainability objectives across each destination. This is just the beginning of a collaborative movement to reshape how tourism supports communities, not just visits them.

Interested in partnering or learning more? Get in touch with us and help shape a smarter, more regenerative future for tourism, together.