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Tuwharetoa Maori Trust Board is ramping up its investment in tourism.
Its commercial subsidiary Taupo Moana Ltd has just bought the hole in One Challenge, where people try to hit golf balls onto a pontoon moored in Lake Taupo.
Board chief executive Topia Rameka says it's the first tourism business the comaopny has bought, but the strategy is to concentrate on the sector as it seeks to diversify its income streams, which now come mostly from lake royalties and money market funds.
He says tourism is a natural fit for iwi business.
"We've seen the success of our whanaunga in Ngai Tahu. Also recently Ngati Awa's venture in Whakaari-White Island, so Maori participation in the tourism scene is a no brainer. We're great hosts, we're great storytellers. I think we are able to enrich a tourism activity significantly and we want to be part of that wave," Mr Rameka says.
Tourism is a big employer so participation makes sense on a number of levels.
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