In 1901, Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward formed the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts, the world's first government department created for tourism development.
The department's name changed several times but it kept that same goal. In 1991, the New Zealand Tourism Board Act established Tourism New Zealand as a Crown Entity.
The Government's Minister of Tourism manages the Crown's interest in Tourism New Zealand. The Minister appoints the nine-member board in consultation with the Tourism Industry Association.
Tourism New Zealand has offices in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch in New Zealand and overseas in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok and Mumbai, Sydney, London and Los Angeles.
Today Tourism New Zealand is an international marketing organization for New Zealand overseas.
Tourism New Zealand also concentrates on the domestic market, with promotions like the successful "Don't Leave Home Till You've Seen the Country" of the 1980s.
