Every seasoned traveller knows it, the best travel advice usually comes from the locals. They’re the people who actually know where to get good coffee, which attractions are worth the drive, and what's really worth your time.
26 February 2026
Every seasoned traveller knows it, the best travel advice usually comes from the locals. They’re the people who actually know where to get good coffee, which attractions are worth the drive, and what's really worth your time.
But tracking down a local who has time to help plan your visit? That's harder.
But there is a better way. Just visit click the 'Plan Your Trip' button at the top right and you’ll find it. Waikirikiri Selwyn's new AI-powered guide that makes planning your Selwyn visit (or weekend) as easy as having a conversation with someone who knows the district inside out.
Tell the Waikirikiri Selwyn Guide what you love—nature, food, adventure, relaxation—add your budget, and it designs a personalised itinerary for your visit. The AI-powered tool responds in natural language, pulling from community knowledge about hundreds of local businesses and attractions to build a trip that actually matches what you're after.
The technology comes from Hello Better, a Rolleston-based digital agency led by Nivanka Fonseka. Nivanka and his team have built something that does the work visitors usually have to do themselves: connecting interests to actual places, timing activities sensibly, building a coherent day or weekend from scattered information.
"When you visit a new place, you just want to ask simple questions and get answers," says Nivanka. "Traditional tourism websites make you click through filters and navigate endless links. I wanted to create something where you could say what you're interested in and get a real plan back."
It's not just for visitors. New residents use it to discover the district, locals use it to plan weekends with visiting family, and businesses benefit from being surfaced through genuine interest-matching rather than just alphabetical lists or paid placement. The system draws from community-sourced information about around 300 operators, extracting operational details—customer profiles, atmospheres, experiences, points of difference—and uses that to build recommendations that make sense together.
For all that ease of use, the technical challenge was significant. The Hello Better team needed to build a system that could interpret varied requests and turn those into sensible itineraries. It required custom knowledge bases, security protocols appropriate for public sector websites, and guardrails to ensure accuracy.
"Setting up the guardrails and security is one thing, but then you have to keep the knowledge up to date as well,” Nivanka says. If a business changes locations, opening hours, or their phone number and we don't update that, the system will keep recommending it. We have to be responsible for maintaining accurate information."
The project took two months from concept to launch, aligning with the Council's rollout of the new Waikirikiri Selwyn brand and its five pillars: Visit, Taste, Business, Live, and Participate. The itinerary builder serves all five, making it useful for visitors planning trips, residents discovering what's on their doorstep, and businesses connecting with people genuinely interested in what they offer.
Nivanka moved to New Zealand from Sri Lanka in 2021, where he'd run a digital agency subcontracting for international businesses. Canterbury made sense—he'd already built working relationships here with several companies—and Selwyn made practical sense for settling down.
Nivanka says that Selwyn has a thriving innovation sector and opportunities are plentiful for those willing to seek them out.
"It's about being there, being in front of people, making those conversations happen," he says. “I would describe myself as an introvert, so showing up consistently at technology exhibitions and local business events isn't always comfortable, but word of mouth carries real weight in Selwyn, so it’s worth it”.
His advice to other businesses looking to establish themselves—then thrive—in the district? “Get your value proposition clear, build a genuine point of difference, then prove it through delivery.”
The partnership with Selwyn District Council demonstrates how strategic support for local expertise creates tangible results. By working with a Rolleston-based agency to deliver cutting-edge technology, the Council supports local enterprise while achieving genuine innovation in digital service delivery.
The Waikirikiri Selwyn Guide makes local knowledge accessible—not through endless clicking, but through conversation that produces actual plans people can use.
The system will continue to evolve as more people use it, learning what visitors and residents want to know and improving its recommendations. It's practical infrastructure that serves the community while positioning Selwyn at the forefront of how councils deliver digital services.
For Hello Better, the project validates that sophisticated technical work can be done from Rolleston. For Selwyn District Council, it demonstrates how supporting local expertise can deliver real, tangible innovation. And for visitors and residents, it means local knowledge is finally as accessible as it should be—at the click of a button