Qualmark Specialists

Jet boatting at Glenorchy

All Qualmark Specialists come with commercial, industry-relevant experience and are specially trained to add value to your business.


Qualmark Specialists come with commercial experience in hospitality, accommodation management and/or management of experiential tourism products. Their backgrounds may differ but they all share the same passion: to add value to your tourism business.

Your specialist will always be objective, but always on your side too. Sometimes an outside view of your business is all you need to take your business to the next level.

Everything starts with a one-on-one evaluation. If your business is already world class then great! But if it’s not quite there yet that’s fine too, because your specialist will give you lots of great feedback, ideas and opportunities to ensure the experience you deliver constantly improves.

Andrew Belsham

Andrew Belsham, Senior Qualmark Specialist
ACCOMMODATION - AUCKLAND

Andrew Belsham brings 20+ years of tourism and accommodation industry experience, including senior management and director roles with the Flight Centre Group UK, Ten Travel Lifestyle Management UK, Small Luxury Hotels of the World, BWH Hotel Group Australasia and Tomahawk, a digital company that specialises in Tourism. Andrew’s real passion is the people behind the business and partnering with them for a sustainable and prosperous future.

Andrew has broad international accommodation and tourism sector knowledge gained through consulting with over 300 accommodation properties worldwide, ranging from top-end luxury to economy-scaled accommodation.

Based in Auckland, Andrew is excited to be on this journey and recognises that there are many challenges ahead. However, there is positive momentum in the tourism industry at present, and he believes that by focusing on quality we can deliver experiences that are not only memorable but also contribute to a better future for the New Zealand visitor economy, which will also support local communities to thrive.

Angela Scott

Angela Scott
ACCOMMODATION - LOWER NORTH ISLAND

Based in Martinborough, Angela has over 20 years’ experience working in the tourism industry for public and private enterprises and has her own tourism marketing consultancy which she set up in 2003. Angela’s experience includes areas such as inbound sales representation, strategic planning, product development, sponsorship, sustainability and more recently digital marketing. 

Angela brings experience mentoring small businesses as a Regional Business Partner provider with New Zealand Trade & Enterprise, and continues to work with a number of her pre-COVID clients (including luxury lodges, villas and boutique stays & experiences) to help them reset for when borders reopen. 

Angela is looking forward to working with and supporting the many accommodation providers she will be assessing within the Lower North Island.   

Kevin Gough

Kevin Gough
ACCOMMODATION - CANTERBURY / DUNEDIN

Kevin Gough has 40 years’ experience of working across many sectors of New Zealand tourism.  He has a strong career profile in tourism management, leading teams in sales and marketing, with a recent focus on commercial accommodation.

For the past 20 years, Kevin has been General Manager of Best Western Hotels & Resorts, Golden Chain Motels and TOP 10 Holiday Parks. He is passionate about New Zealand tourism and has been a supporter of Qualmark since its inception.

Kylie Walker

Kylie Walker
ACCOMMODATION - QUEENSTOWN / WANAKA / FIORDLAND / SOUTHLAND

Kylie brings over 25 years of experience as a commercial manager in the tourism and travel industry. She has a proven track record of improving business operations and supporting both large and small-scale companies (SMEs) to achieve success. Her strengths lie in strategic planning, revenue generation, product development, key account management, distribution, mentoring, and marketing.

Kylie's previous roles include serving as the Director of Sales & Marketing at Pro Invest Group, where she supported the opening of the first-ever Holiday Inn Express and Suites in Queenstown during the challenging times of Covid. She has also worked with renowned hotel brands such as Intercontinental Hotels Group at Crowne Plaza Queenstown. Additionally, Kylie has held positions as a Store Manager for Air New Zealand Holidays, Regional Development Manager for a marketing and distribution company called Tourism Exchange, and International Sales Manager at Millbrook Resort. Throughout her career, she has also held various senior operational positions. In addition to mentorship/advisory board member appointments.

Based in Queenstown, Kylie will be responsible for overseeing our accommodation partners in Queenstown, Wanaka, Fiordland, and Southland. Her extensive experience and expertise make her well-equipped to support and collaborate with our partners in these regions.

Rachael Livingstone
ACCOMMODATION - AUCKLAND / NORTHLAND

Rachael is a dedicated and passionate hospitality professional, contributing over 15 years of senior hotel management expertise to Qualmark. Her experience spans key areas such as Rooms Operations, Revenue Management, Safety and Security, and Human Resources. With a successful career that features roles in 4 and 5-star hotels both in New Zealand and abroad, including prominent positions with global brands Marriott International and Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Rachael brings a wealth of knowledge that strategically positions her to offer invaluable assistance to our partners.

Based in Auckland, Rachael is excited to be working with and supporting accommodation partners in Auckland and Northland.

Shelley Eastwood

Shelley Eastwood
ACCOMMODATION - NELSON / MARLBOROUGH / WEST COAST REGION

Shelley brings over 25 years of hospitality & tourism experience with a strong background in hotel sales & marketing and stakeholder management along with strategy planning, revenue and coaching.

Shelley reopened Pullman Auckland Hotel & Apartments as Director of Sales after the hotel was a managed isolation property for 2 years. Her previous roles include 11 years with Heritage Hotel Management focusing on the domestic and international MICE segment across Heritage Hotels 3 brands to support the small to large scale properties throughout the New Zealand regions. Born in Canada, Shelley also worked in sales and event roles at Fairmont Chateau Whistler and the Delta Pacific in Vancouver before moving permanently to New Zealand in 2007.

Shelley is based in the Tasman District and will be looking after our accommodation partners in Nelson, Marlborough and the West Coast.

Grant Ward, Senior Qualmark Specialist
EXPERIENCES - AUCKLAND

Grant has been a part of the Qualmark team for over 18 years, having first started in the role of a Sales and Account Manager for the experiences sector.

Previous to his employment with Qualmark, Grant gained experience with THL Rentals, Kiwi Experience/Fullers Northland, SKY Television, Turoa Skifields and managing the family farm in Northland.

Grant is based in the Auckland region and will be supporting members within the region in the experiences sector. In his spare time, he enjoys the outdoors - particularly hunting/fishing.

Gina Dymand
EXPERIENCES - CANTERBURY

Gina will be based in Christchurch and assisting members through their evaluations in the wider Canterbury area.

Ian Elliott

Ian Elliott
EXPERIENCES - LOWER SOUTH ISLAND

Based in the Waitaki Valley between Oamaru and Omarama, Ian has a background in startups and business development.  His experience ranges from owning a country pub and mountain biking business to being a chief executive and board chair.  He has a Post Graduate Diploma of Tourism from Otago University.  Ian spent two years as marketing manager for Tourism Waitaki.

Keri Edmonds

Keri Edmonds
EXPERIENCES - LOWER NORTH ISLAND

Keri joins the Qualmark team bringing over 25 years of experience in private, public, and local government tourism organisations.  

Keri is an experienced, innovative marketing and product development professional with strong inbound and outbound tourism industry experience and networks in worldwide tourism markets. Keri has an in-depth knowledge of sales and multi-channel marketing, stakeholder and partnership management.  

Keri’s previous roles include Wine Tourism Manager at New Zealand Wine, Product Development Advisor at Auckland Unlimited (previously Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development), and 15 years of experience in Global Holiday Procurement and Product Management roles at Air New Zealand.   

Keri is delighted to be part of the Qualmark team and will be working closely with our members in the Wellington and Lower North Island regions.  

Peter Clinton-Baker

Peter Clinton-Baker
EXPERIENCES - NELSON / MARLBOROUGH / KAIKŌURA

Peter’s experience comes from over 20 years in the snow sports industry, a brief stint in food and beverage, and 11 years owning and running an adventure tourism business operating under concessions and licences from DOC, NZTA and Maritime New Zealand. Peter brings first-hand insights which can really assist small to medium tourism enterprises.

Samantha Miles

Samantha Miles
EXPERIENCES - BAY OF PLENTY / COROMANDEL / ROTORUA

Sam has 15 years’ experience in the hospitality, and events industries in sales, operations and training roles. Working for hotels and IT businesses from Queenstown to Ohakune, Coromandel, Italy and Chicago. For the past 6 years, she’s headed up the sales and operations of events and experiences for New Zealand’s largest hospitality group, focusing on partnerships and innovation.

In between she spent 14 years in the health sector as a rehabilitation teacher and Kinesiologist while operating a business, marketing wellbeing products throughout New Zealand and Australasia. Trained in several health science practices, Sam enjoys supporting business owners, utilising her sound understanding of the resilience required for business sustainability.

Sam’s dedicated to partnering with license holders to assist them with showcasing our land, culture and friendly hospitality. With a customer centric focus on processes, marketing and product delivery, she brings a holistic and pragmatic approach to tourism businesses.