In this episode, Carmen is joined by Brad Rowe, a tourism consultant with deep experience across product development, infrastructure, and destination management.

We explore his journey from growing up in New Zealand to working on major tourism projects in Queenstown and internationally, including large-scale gondola and chairlift developments.

Brad shares practical insights on experience design, what actually drives return on investment in tourism, and how operators can create moments that guests remember and share.

What You’ll Take Away From This Episode

•  What “experience design” really means in a tourism context 
•  How visitor experience directly links to revenue and ROI 
•  Behind-the-scenes insights into major Queenstown tourism developments 
•  The shift from employment to consulting in the tourism industry 
•  What separates average experiences from truly memorable ones 
•  Why operational detail matters just as much as big ideas 

About Brad Rowe

Brad Rowe is a tourism consultant and the founder of Tourism x Design, where he helps tourism businesses and destinations create innovative visitor experiences.

With more than 15 years in the visitor economy, Brad has worked across tourism development, infrastructure, and destination strategy - helping launch new tourism concepts, scale visitor experiences, and support destinations to build more resilient tourism economies.

The career path he followed was not a conventional one - he took some leaps of faith and rode some waves of tourism growth in mountain biking, chairlifts, tech and destination management.

Today he works as an independent advisor focused on experience design, product development, and commercial strategy.

Connect With Brad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brad-rowe-nz/

Organisations Referenced

• Brad Rowe Website: https://bradrowe.me/
• Skyline: https://skylineenterprises.co.nz/
• University of Otago: https://www.otago.ac.nz/
• Maverick Tourism: https://maverick-tourism.com/
• Doppelmayr Group: https://www.doppelmayr.com/en/
•  Tourism Bay of Plenty: https://www.bayofplentynz.com/
•  Watershed Lake Sauna Queenstown: https://watershedsaunas.com/

Episode Chapters

00:00 – Introduction and guest welcome
 01:53 – Queenstown’s unique appeal and personal stories
 02:44 – Travel habits and early influences
 04:38 – Childhood and education path
 07:47 – Choosing tourism as a career
 10:42 – Early career and internship experience
 15:20 – Skyline Queenstown and mountain biking development
 20:28 – Gondolas, chairlifts, and infrastructure expansion
 24:24 – International projects and Austrian partnerships
 30:29 – Transition to consulting
 35:20 – Tourism product development and destination management
 37:49 – Visitor experience and ROI
 47:22 – Final thoughts and industry advice