The Business of Tourism - Alex Dykman on building Maverick Tourism, assembling a great team and digital change
Join Carmen as she chats with Alex Dykman, founder of Maverick Tourism and Grow Tourism, about entrepreneurship and the business of tourism.
Alex’s tourism career began with a chance conversation over drinks and an entry-level role with Tourism New Zealand. A few years later, several freelance projects completed while travelling through South America planted the seed for Maverick Tourism.
After returning to New Zealand at the age of 24, Alex gave herself six months to turn those early projects into a viable business. More than a decade later, Maverick Tourism has grown into a team of 12, working with leading tourism businesses across New Zealand and beyond.
Alex shares how Maverick found its place helping tourism operators grow direct sales, why bringing the right business partner into the company transformed what it could deliver, and how referrals, relationships and strong results fuelled its growth.
The conversation also explores Maverick’s approach to recruitment and its “no dickheads” policy, why cultural fit matters alongside technical capability, and how a strong employer brand can help smaller tourism businesses attract and retain talented people.
Alex also explains how industry conversations during New Zealand tourism’s recovery from COVID led her to launch Grow Tourism, an industry-led learning platform designed to provide more dynamic and relevant workforce development.
Carmen and Alex discuss flexible work, employee experience, tourism career pathways, digital distribution and the rapid changes AI is creating for tourism marketing.
It is an open and practical conversation about backing yourself, recognising genuine market needs, building a business around good people and continuing to evolve as the tourism industry changes.
WHAT YOU’LL TAKE AWAY FROM THIS EPISODE
How a chance conversation led Alex from journalism into tourism
Why early roles within destination organisations can provide valuable exposure to the wider tourism industry
How freelance tourism marketing projects became the foundation of Maverick Tourism
Why Alex gave herself six months to prove the business could become viable
How face-to-face relationships and word-of-mouth referrals helped Maverick grow
Why bringing complementary skills into a business can completely change its trajectory
How Maverick approaches recruitment, cultural fit and its “no dickheads” policy
Why employer brand matters for tourism businesses that cannot compete solely on salary
Practical ways flexible work can help attract and retain talented people
How Grow Tourism emerged from industry conversations about workforce attraction, development and retention
Why digital strategy and distribution are no longer optional for tourism operators
How AI and changing search behaviour are reshaping tourism marketing
Alex’s advice for anyone considering taking an entrepreneurial leap
ABOUT ALEX DYKMAN
Alex Dykman is the kiwi founder of Maverick Tourism and Grow Tourism, a mum of 3 and a passionate advocate for all things tourism and visitor economy.
Maverick is her first business baby – a dedicated tourism marketing agency that has been helping tourism operators and destinations make the most of the digital space for more than 12 years. Alex and the team works with brands across the South Pacific and North America, combining big-picture thinking with a hands-on understanding of the stuff that actually moves the needle when it comes to visibility, direct sales and distribution.
More recently, Alex launched Grow Tourism, a new venture focused on transforming the way tourism trains and develops its workforce. Grow is all about modern, practical, bite-sized learning that feels exciting and far from stuffy; helping operators better grow and retain their people - powering industry forward in the process.
Connect with Alex on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adykman/
Learn more about Maverick Tourism: https://maverick-tourism.com/
Learn more about Grow Tourism: https://growtourism.com/
ORGANISATIONS REFERENCED
Tourism New Zealand: https://www.tourismnewzealand.com/
NewZealand.com: https://www.newzealand.com/
Queenstown Resort College: https://www.qrc.ac.nz/
Tourism Industry Aotearoa: https://www.tia.org.nz/
ZAC WATSON TOURISM MATTERS EPISODE
Carmen also spoke with Maverick Tourism General Manager Zac Watson about his tourism career, leadership and the journey that led him to Maverick.
Listen to the conversation with Zac Watson: https://www.carmenbold.com/tourism-matters-podcast/zac-watson
EPISODE CHAPTERS
00:00 – Introduction
01:14 – Meet Alex Dykman
05:37 – Alex’s early years and career ambitions
07:19 – The conversation that led Alex into tourism
13:12 – Travelling to South America and starting Maverick Tourism
17:30 – Giving the business six months to succeed
20:05 – Finding Maverick’s place in the tourism market
23:23 – The hire that changed the trajectory of the business
29:16 – Recruitment, cultural fit and the no dickheads policy
33:19 – Building a strong employer brand
38:16 – How Grow Tourism began
48:09 – Flexible work and retaining talented people
52:37 – AI, digital change and the future of tourism marketing
57:13 – Alex’s advice to her younger self
59:40 – Carmen’s key takeaways