Advice on future-focused sustainable tourism

To: Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall, Acting Minister of Conservation
Date: 5 May 2015

This letter provides feedback from the Authority on the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment’s (PCE) Report: Not 100% - but four steps closer to sustainable tourism.

The Authority had intended to also provide feedback on the Tourism Futures Taskforce (TFT) interim report, We are Aotearoa, in order to provide the fullest advice and commentary to you on the future of tourism. However, we note that the TFT has now been disbanded.

The Authority note that, despite the TFT report being focused primarily on how the tourism industry can thrive, the mahi of the disbanded TFT was useful in bringing together many sectors, envisioning significant changes to the tourism status quo, and generating common commitment to that change.

The Authority is pleased to see the Government favour the PCE report, as it is focused on the environmental pressures being created by the tourism industry, and measures to counter these pressures. There is, however, a shared concern within the Authority of the real risk of missed opportunity, with the focus on achieving quick wins through addressing more immediate and easily fixed issues, such as freedom camping, rather than implementing major changes required to make tourism sustainable and regenerative.

As the title of the PCE report infers, the four proposals set a direction towards an environmentally sustainable tourism industry, but they are only a part of the substantial change that is necessary to achieving this goal. The Authority has enclosed its detailed feedback and advice on the specific proposals in the report.

The Authority is adamant that any work on the future of tourism will require a strong voice for conservation, the environment, and science; we will be ready to take our place in this mahi. 

No reira
E noho ora mai

Edward Ellison ONZM
Chairperson NZCA

Read the NZCA's detailed feedback as a PDF:
NZCA feedback on the PCE Report (PDF, 223K)

Read the NZCA's detailed feedback as a webpage:
NZCA feedback on the PCE Report