Experience future-focussed seniors’ living in the land of the long white cloud - IST2026

For 12 years, we have been delivering bespoke study tours showcasing the world’s finest in seniors’ living. Join us for IST2026 and experience the latest innovations in retirement living and care in Auckland and Christchurch. During our 6-day tour, you’ll meet with owners, operators, developers, architects and sales leaders to understand how New Zealand’s seniors’ living sector is responding to changing expectations and delivering high-quality resident experiences. You’ll also experience firsthand how hospitality, lifestyle programming, sustainability and technology are enhancing resident outcomes and creating thriving communities.

The tour will provide exclusive access to progressive retirement and care communities, and integrated developments that are redefining later living across the north and south islands. Explore New Zealand’s innovative approaches to wellness, healthcare integration, resident engagement and community design, while gaining insight into evolving models of care and service delivery.

To complete the experience, we will stay in five-star hotels and enjoy the best of local cuisine at celebrated restaurants.

IST2026 is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to expand your sector knowledge and gain fresh insights, all while sharing experiences and building lasting connections with your Australian peers. Places are limited, register your interest now.

Top reasons for joining our next IST

Thought leadership conference

A meeting of minds in which leaders and innovators across the global seniors’ industry share their knowledge. We share current insights and future-forward thinking from the Australian market, too.

Tour leading communities

Visit unique broadacre developments, cutting edge land lease communities, inner city vertical communities, boutique resort style and mixed use communities in countries that are leading the way.

Gain valuable insights

Discover the intrinsic importance of a robust health and wellbeing offering – a key ingredient for today’s seniors. Learn how care pathways and scalable services play a vital role in modern communities.

Key sales and finance insights

Learn how to achieve even stronger sales results from the best in the business. Take away key insights and challenge your thinking on current Australian financial models and fee structures.

Experience resort-style communities

See first-hand how some of the world’s most luxurious operators work. Immerse yourself in the culture of communities that challenge the status quo and meet the dedicated people running them.

Networking opportunities

Connect with your Australian peers and international counterparts. Every IST offers one-of-a kind opportunities to forge lasting relationships with those committed to the advancement of the seniors’ sector.

The places we have been on IST

2025
New York, Providence, Boston, Seattle
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We were thrilled to welcome a fantastic group of delegates on our eighth International Study Tour – this time to the USA. The tour took us through New York, Providence, Boston and Seattle. Our delegates gained valuable insights from US experts across senior housing, longevity, design, health and wellbeing, dementia care, finance and customer experience. We explored exceptional communities and connected with some of the industry’s most forward-thinking leaders, too. It was a tour filled with inspiration, innovation, meaningful connections and plenty of great memories.
2024
London, Bath, Bristol, Venice, Siena, Florence
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September saw our first co-hosted International Study Tour take in the UK and Italy. In conjunction with Marchese Partners, we took 20 delegates on an exciting journey of discovery with a meticulously crafted program that we believe was our best yet. We explored exceptional communities, engaged with the industry’s most forward-thinking leaders and heard from experts on a range of topics including senior housing, longevity, research, customer experience, health and wellbeing and more. The group brought home a wealth of information and insights, which we cannot wait to see filter through to upcoming seniors’ projects across the country.
2023
Chicago, Phoenix, Palm Springs, Los Angeles
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Our 2023 International Study Tour encompassed three US states, four hotels, 18 community tours and 20 delegates, over 31,733 km. The packed program included presentations from experts on senior housing, longevity, mixed use projects, research, customer experience, health and wellbeing and dementia care, along with valuations, financing and sales. We toured luxury resort communities, boutique independent living projects, broadacre and vertical communities and world class developments.
2018
Toronto, Quebec City, Montreal, Vancouver
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On this ambitious and exciting tour, we learned about diverse communities; from brand new vertical developments to ethnic and religion specific villages, to an exciting mixed-use project. Our delegates gained first-hand knowledge of the latest industry developments from Canada’s finest, along with a leadership conference in Toronto, where insights from the Canadian industry’s most impressive minds were shared.
2017
Copenhagen, Malmo, Hamburg, Berlin
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Our tour took delegates through five of the best cities in Denmark, Sweden and Germany. We discovered why Europe’s wealthiest families are changing retirement living for the better by building their own environments. We toured multi-generational housing developments, luxury seniors’ apartments, ‘living’ neighbourhoods, a converted convent, an innovative end-of-life facility and a Buddhist centre, while hearing from leading seniors’ architects, urban developers and housing companies.
2016
Britain, Rotterdam, Amsterdam
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Our IST2016 delegates discovered the latest innovations in UK seniors’ living, while experiencing the exceptional service delivery of an award-winning suite of luxury hotels. Kicking off the tour was a two-day leadership conference, followed by 14 vertical and broadacre tours, masterclasses with the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, insights on assisted living, in-home and residential aged care and a trip to The Netherlands to learn more about their innovative work on dementia care.
2015
New York City, Washington, Orlando, Dallas
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Starting in New York, we packed our dynamic tour into 10 days. For IST 15 we attended over 20 presentations and tours, met some of the world’s best operators, went ‘backstage’ at leading retirement communities and prestige hotels, and got the low down on new technology. Delegates arrived home armed with a wealth of newfound knowledge and inspirational ideas – ready to nurture much needed growth in the Australian seniors’ industry.
2014
Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco
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For our first ever IST, 24 delegates from Australia and New Zealand travelled to eighteen communities across Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. A key focus of the tour was to develop insights into high-end hospitality and experiential businesses. Back-of-house hotel tours (including the London in West Hollywood and the Grand Del Mar in San Diego) were organised to understand their approaches to large scale customer service delivery.