PFW News Update: June 2021
/The future of tourism
As Aotearoa New Zealand for the moment maintains its precarious Covid-free community status, most tourism providers around the country have accepted that until every eligible person is fully vaccinated, keeping our borders closed to international tourists is essential. Not least because this allows domestic tourists to travel freely around the country, and without local tourism, many businesses that rely heavily on tourism could be forced to either go into hibernation or close their doors for good. And when the borders are opened up again, there is a similar acknowledgement that NZ tourism cannot return to ‘business as usual’ based on pre-Covid levels: resetting and rebuilding a more regenerative tourism industry is crucial to the country’s future prosperity and wellbeing.
In March this year, Minister of Tourism Stuart Nash outlined his vision for the future of tourism. He flagged a shake-up of visitor pricing, including on the Department of Conservation estate, as part of his game plan for the industry. Significantly raising the levy that overseas tourists pay to enter the country is on the agenda, as is differential pricing for New Zealanders at some high-volume or environmentally vulnerable tourist spots.
"Regions heavily reliant on international tourism, dare I say it overly reliant on international tourism, should have a range of alternatives because we don't want to be in this situation again," Nash said.
Later in March, the Ministry released the Tourism Futures Taskforce report, its central theme being the need to prioritise sustainable tourism that enhances community wellbeing rather than degrading it. Launching the report, Nash reiterated his four key principles for transforming the tourism sector, commenting that “Brand New Zealand must be protected; we cannot return to business as usual; the full cost of tourism must be priced into the visitor experience; and the Government intends to work in partnership with the sector to achieve change.”
The government’s objectives for the future of tourism in NZ closely align with those outlined in the Waiheke Sustainable Community and Tourism Strategy developed by Project Forever Waiheke for the Waiheke Local Board and the Waiheke community, launched at the beginning of 2019. Now, in the middle of a global pandemic, implementing the strategy seems even more important. Similar objectives are set out in the guidelines on destination management released last year by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
“Destination management and planning is the mechanism by which New Zealanders can ensure that tourism in their region reflects their wishes and they have an agreed way to maximise the benefits that tourism brings whilst managing any negative impacts. It helps give greater certainty to the private sector that enables long term investment as well as confidence to the public sector about the facilities and services they need to provide.”
Iain Cossar, GM Tourism, MBIE
Minister Nash was also clear that NZ needs to avoid future economic over-reliance on tourism, and has established a fund to support that move. Other countries are also focusing on ways to diversify away from over-reliance on tourism, and even tourism promoters are now starting to recognise and address the problem of over-tourism.
Concurrently, Auckland Unlimited is working towards developing a series of regional Destination Management Plans to support local communities across greater Auckland. The initial focus will be on areas where visitor impacts are greatest, and it is exciting to see that
Waiheke Island and Aotea Great Barrier Island will be the first two destinations under the microscope. It’s also heartening to see that a priority focus for the proposed Destination Management Plan for Waiheke is described as “finding the ‘sweet spot’ between encouraging solid visitor numbers but not too many, so we can avoid over-tourism risks going forward”, which reflects Project Forever Waiheke’s mantra.
“The major cause of concern [re visitor impacts on Waiheke’s community], as understood from the Local Board, is that residents across all demographics have chosen to live on the island with its own intrinsic values – including its unspoilt nature. Mass tourism is widely perceived to threaten that nature and the sense of community – the quintessential values that also contribute to making Waiheke a popular destination for locals and visitors alike.”
Auckland Unlimited Regional Destination Management Plan Summary Proposal, May 2021
In other highly popular tourist destinations globally, locals are also now focused on taking a hard look at how tourism can be managed so that it doesn’t continue to have damaging impacts on local communities and natural environments. Recent examples are the residents of Venice protesting the return of huge cruise ships, and plans in other island communities internationally to implement regenerative models to restore both communities and nature. A common focus is on protecting local communities from new Covid variants as international borders open.
Meanwhile, Project Forever Waiheke’s self-initiated research and monitoring programme – WaihekeWise – is focusing in 2021-2022 on undertaking a cluster of surveys, in collaboration with the Waiheke Local Board, Waiheke Island Tourism Inc, and the University of Auckland School of Environment. The main areas of focus for this research are: the impacts of tourism on the island’s housing, the natural environment, public amenities, health and emergency services, water security, and the Waiheke economy; how tourism has been affected by the COVID pandemic; and, importantly, Waiheke locals views on the future of tourism on the island. Please contribute your views to either or both of the surveys below.
