Dunedin Industry Familiarisation Project
We’re excited to invite you to be part of a brand-new initiative designed to showcase your business to the very people who interact with visitors every day – Dunedin’s food & drink, retail, and tourism employees.
Discover Dunedin Pass
The Discover Dunedin Pass gives our frontline champions the chance to experience the best our city has to offer, so they can:
- Share your story with confidence
- Actively refer visitors and locals to your business
- Help grow pride in Ōtepoti Dunedin as a destination
Developed as part of Ōtepoti Dunedin’s Destination Management Plan, the programme is about creating stronger connections across our city’s visitor economy.
Our Objectives for this Programme are
- Reconnect & re-educate: Give people working across food & drink, retail, and tourism the chance to discover (or rediscover) each other’s products, services, and experiences and enable confident referrals across sectors.
- Collaborate & create: Encourage new partnerships, fresh ideas, and joint initiatives that benefit the whole city.
- Welcome with confidence: Equip frontline staff to deliver warm, knowledgeable, and memorable recommendations to every visitor.
This is your chance to put your business directly into the hands of Dunedin’s visitor-facing teams – and to help build a citywide culture of pride, connection, and collaboration.
How it works
Registration for contributing business and service providers to register their familiarisation offer is open from 16 October – 12 December 2025. Your offer will be listed on Ōtepoti | Dunedin New Zealand official website for industry participants to search and find experiences that they wish to famil in the quieter months. In 2026 this programme will run from May – August. Each activity will provide the Industry Participant with a participation stamp (number of stamps per visit will vary depending on experience) and as thresholds are met, rewards will be unlocked.
Reward Redemption
The number of stamps earned from each attraction and experience reflects the time, effort and investment made by the Industry Participant. For example, a visit to a local distillery in downtown Dunedin may earn 1 Stamp due to the ease and proximity of the venue, whilst a visit to Otago Peninsula may earn 2 Stamps as there is more time and effort required to get there.
Once the stamps reach thresholds, the Industry Participants are able to claim their prizes and or go in a draw for more grand prizes. Read Terms and Conditions here .
Why should your Business participate?
This is your chance to put your business in the spotlight and connect with Dunedin’s wider business community. By joining the Discover Dunedin Pass you’ll benefit from:
- Showcasing your story – Educate industry participants about what you do, what you offer, and why you’re unique, giving them the confidence to recommend you.
- Upskilling your team – Provide staff with an ongoing training opportunity that deepens their knowledge of the local visitor experience.
- Unlocking new customers – Attract a fresh audience and drive visitation during traditionally quieter times of year.
- Sparking innovation – Open the door to collaborations, new products, and fresh initiatives with like-minded businesses across Ōtepoti Dunedin.
- Building city pride – Contribute to a stronger sense of pride in Dunedin and everything our city has to offer.
Together, we can create a network of confident local ambassadors who champion your business and showcase the very best of Ōtepoti Dunedin.
Who is eligible to join
Contributing Businesses:
Any business in the Ōtepoti Dunedin food & drink, retail, and tourism sector. Examples include restaurants, cafés, producers, makers, food and drink retailers, farmers, growers, tourism experiences, tourism services such as transport operators and the accommodation sector.
- The businesses must be able to consistently offer an incentive/value-add experience opportunity in the quieter months of the year (May – Aug) to Industry Participants with limited blackout periods.
- Support for their own qualifying staff to participate in the Industry Familiarisation Programme, but there is no expectation that staff will participate on ‘company time’. Participation in the Discover Dunedin Pass is to be done in personal time.
Industry Participants:
Any individual who works in the Ōtepoti Dunedin food & drink, retail, and tourism sector. Examples include restaurants, cafés, producers, makers, food and drink retailers, farmers, growers, tourism experiences, tourism services such as transport operators and the accommodation sector.
- Industry Participants can be paid and non-paid (volunteers)
- Individual who works/volunteers at least 20 hours per week or otherwise has been incentivised by the manager at their discretion – rostered or in one of the qualifying business types
- Confirmation will be required by the manager of role
Register now open for Contributing Businesses to list their offering.
Please complete the form here.