positive and negative impacts of tourism in new zealand

Drawing inspiration from New Zealand: a model for sustainable tourism

By Kevin Tjoe — 28 Oct 2022

new zealand   Responsible tourism   sustainability   sustainable tourism

As sustainability takes centre stage for the experiences industry, New Zealand has been leading the sustainable tourism industry since 1999, and today, most countries and communities look to New Zealand for ideas and inspiration. Recent research shows that consumers are very interested in booking sustainable trips and tours, and it’s very likely that they will choose the eco-friendly option if it’s available. The trouble is that many tourists who are interested in sustainable travel do not know where to go or how to book the most environmentally-conscious vacation.

By understanding the rise of sustainable tourism in New Zealand and learning how to adapt your offerings at your tour and activity company, you can take advantage of this trend and increase your bookings among the most motivated travellers.

What is sustainable tourism?

Sustainable tourism is a movement in the travel industry. Its goal is to develop practices that reduce travel’s ecological impact on a destination’s environment and culture. Generally speaking, those in the sustainable tourism sector seek to acknowledge travel’s positive and negative impacts in any destination. For many countries and communities, the travel industry plays a major role in their economy, providing jobs to many in the local area and generating revenue within the community. However, at the same time, an influx of travellers who are not mindful of their ecological impact can have a negative impact on the environment, lead to increased pollution in a community, and have a detrimental impact on the local culture and traditions in the region.

Sustainable tourism is still considered a niche sector of the travel industry as a whole, but in the aftermath of the pandemic, more travellers are making responsible tourism a top priority when they travel. Tour operators need to understand sustainable tourism and how they can incorporate these practices into their own business to attract the attention of motivated travel consumers.

The challenges facing travellers and tour operators who are interested in sustainable tourism

While most travellers are interested in sustainable tourism practices , and many tour operators know that their customers are craving these options, there are still challenges facing both travellers and tourism businesses. The top challenges facing those interested in sustainable tourism include:

• Many travellers find that there is a lack of information regarding the best sustainable tourism practices, and they are unsure how to implement these practices into their own experiences.
• Tourists searching for sustainable travel packages often find that they do not have many options available, which can limit the scope of their experiences.
• It can be difficult for responsible travellers to find tour and activity companies that offer sustainable packages and options.
• Tour operators interested in updating their offerings to make them more sustainable are still dealing with lingering issues related to the pandemic, including ongoing restrictions and protocols, continued supply chain issues and staffing shortages.

What is responsible tourism: how New Zealand is leading the way

New Zealand has long been a destination that has appealed to people who love exploring natural, untouched environments and who appreciate the thrill of adventure. In addition, the local people who call New Zealand home have always been committed to caring for their community. 

According to the Responsible Tourism Partnerships Organisation, Responsible Tourism is about “making better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit.” Responsible Tourism requires that operators, hoteliers, governments, local people, and tourists take responsibility, and take action to make tourism more sustainable in their local communities.

As a result, it’s not surprising that the sustainable tourism industry is thriving in New Zealand, and it’s even less surprising that they are leading the way when it comes to developing the best, most viable, and even profitable responsible tourism practices .

Due to the local community’s efforts in promoting these responsible tourism practices, the sustainable tourism sector in New Zealand is expected to grow by more than 16 percent in the coming year, with an anticipated value of more than $8.1 million in U.S. dollars. Some of the ways that New Zealand is leading the way in this sector are by:

• Promoting the recreational activities that can be enjoyed in New Zealand while still protecting its culture and people.
• Encouraging tourism businesses to participate in regenerative tourism, in which they plant additional local trees and plants to restore the environment that may be negatively impacted by travellers.
• Partnering with other local tourism businesses in developing a strategic plan for implementing responsible tourism practices.
• Creating marketing campaigns that accurately represent the local people and promote the ideals, cultures, and values of New Zealand.

The role of tour operators in sustainable tourism

Tour operators quite literally serve as the guide to a local destination, which means that they have an important role to play when it comes to implementing sustainable tourism practices . Tour operators also can actively work to overcome some of the challenges that need to be addressed to effectively promote and design sustainable tourism packages.

These are a few steps that tour operators can take to take advantage of the sustainable tourism trend and attract customers who are interested in adopting these responsible practices:

• Tour operators can begin to minimise the emissions produced through each tour by relying more heavily on electric vehicles and alternative transportation options.
• Tour and activity companies can create carbon-free excursions, such as guided hikes through a local area or bike rides into town to visit the best local restaurants.
• Tour companies can partner with other local businesses, such as restaurants, shops or other service providers, to keep as much revenue as possible within the local economy.
• Tour and activity companies can partner with local suppliers and hire local residents to maximise the travel industry’s positive impacts on the local community.
• Tour operators can actively promote their sustainable practices to raise awareness about responsible travel options in the local area.

Your target audience: understanding the responsible traveller

As you begin to adapt your offerings and take the lead from New Zealand, you will want to develop an intimate understanding of your new target audience. The responsible traveller is quickly becoming a major demographic within the tour and activity industry, and you need to know how to reach this type of traveller through your marketing and promotional materials.

Generally speaking, responsible travellers span all age groups, and they are becoming increasingly mindful of their excursions’ impact on the local area. They are often:

• Going to be insightful, open-minded, and craving information about the local culture, environment, and community
• Looking to visit a destination where they can enjoy the natural beauty of the area and typically enjoy adventurous tours and activities
• Prefer to work with local suppliers and support the local economy as much as possible

To attract this demographic, the tourism professionals in New Zealand have developed an innovative marketing campaign that promotes the local people, the spoken language and natural beauty of their country. They are actively inviting travellers to visit their country in a respectful and responsible way. So far, the campaign has been very successful, attracting sustainable travellers from across the globe.

Sustainable tourism examples to inspire you

If you are looking to be inspired by New Zealand’s commitment to responsible tourism, consider these examples they have implemented in their country:

• Motu Kaikōura is a lodge in Auckland that invites visitors to come, stay and enjoy the spectacular views of the Fitzroy Harbour. However, the catch is that travellers need to volunteer to participate in the ongoing maintenance and environmental projects that they do to preserve the area.
• The Wairaurahiri Jet is a jet boat tour through Fiordland National Park that invites travellers to enjoy an immersive tour and learn more about the natural species that call it home. In addition, guests can sponsor a trap that will remove local invasive predators from the area.

When you make changes to your offerings and begin to create more sustainable options for your clients, your bookings will begin to rise quickly. To manage this influx of inquiries and bookings, you will need an online booking system designed specifically for tour and activity operators. Rezdy is the leading online booking and channel management system for the tour and activity sector, and we can help you seamlessly incorporate responsible tourism options into your business.

Curious to see how Rezdy can fit within your tour and activity business? Start your FREE 21-day trial or book a demo today.

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Ensuring New Zealand benefits from sustainable tourism growth

• Hon Kelvin Davis
• Hon Eugenie Sage

The New Zealand-Aotearoa Government Tourism Strategy, which aims to deliver benefits to New Zealanders through productive, sustainable and inclusive tourism growth, has been launched today by Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis and Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage.

The new Strategy sets out a more deliberate and active role for government in tourism, to better manage the challenges of growth and share the benefits of tourism more widely.

“Tourism is a vital part of New Zealand’s ongoing success, supporting national and regional economies, creating jobs and allowing us to celebrate who we are. We must ensure that we’re set up to continue enjoying these benefits, while better managing the challenges that growth can bring,” Kelvin Davis said.

“The Tourism Strategy sets out five key outcomes for tourism in New Zealand to ultimately improve New Zealanders’ lives through tourism, and enrich our country through sustainable tourism growth.”

New Zealand’s natural environment, culture and historic heritage are an important focus for the Tourism Strategy.

“New Zealand’s natural and cultural heritage is at the core of our tourism industry and our national identity. We must build a sustainable visitor industry that protects and cherishes this heritage for future generations,” Eugenie Sage said.

“ As visitor numbers rise we must ensure the tourism industry is part of the solution for our biggest conservation challenges; including climate change, impact of pest species, and habitat loss and degradation.

“Tourism can be a champion for the restoration of the natural environment, and show other industries and sectors how it can be done successfully.”

The Tourism Strategy includes a work programme and priorities to focus the new direction for tourism and make sure it is a success. Tools such as the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy, and the response to the Responsible Camping Working Group will help to make this a reality.

The ongoing success of the Tourism Strategy and tourism overall, will rely on strong industry leadership.

“We know that we’ll have better tourism outcomes by working closely with the tourism and conservation sectors, and building stronger partnerships with Māori tourism enterprise, iwi, hapū and tangata whenua. We look forward to working together with the industry to achieve our goals,” Kelvin Davis said.

More information on the New Zealand- Aotearoa Government Tourism Strategy can be found online at www.mbie.govt.nz/tourism-strategy .

Rethinking tourism and its contribution to conservation in New Zealand

Senior Lecturer Public Policy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Disclosure statement

Valentina Dinica does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington provides funding as a member of The Conversation NZ.

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU.

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New Zealand is one of 36 global hotspots for biodiversity. Its unique wildlife is a major draw card for tourists.

About three million international visitors arrive in New Zealand each year, adding NZ$15 billion to the economy. At least half explore a national park or protected area (PA), but they contribute very little to these conservation lands.

Government policies implemented since 2009 as part of a “conservation economy” vision aimed to stimulate economic growth by opening up business access to national parks.

Contracts have been granted with an expectation that businesses that benefit from New Zealand’s natural capital would bring environmental and infrastructural gains. My research finds no evidence of such improvements. Here I propose how businesses could help to make nature tourism more sustainable.

Read more: Is it too cheap to visit the 'priceless' Great Barrier Reef?

Challenge of saving threatened species

Globally, biodiversity is in crisis. Experts agree that the world is undergoing its sixth mass extinction .

In New Zealand, a third of the land area is protected. Many animals and plants are found nowhere else, but 80% of the country’s native bird species are in trouble .

Biodiversity conservation in PAs is funded primarily from the state budget. Historically, the appropriations for the Department of Conservation (DOC) have been too small to tackle the challenge of protecting some 2800 species considered to be endangered, at risk of extinction or vulnerable.

The contribution of tourism to DOC’s budgets has so far been below 9% . This includes concession fees from tourism operators approved to access PAs, user fees for huts and other facilities, donations and sponsorships.

Conservative budgets for protected areas

Funding cuts are reported around the world , particularly under neoliberal or conservative governments. Stagnant or diminishing budgets sometimes occur despite growing visitor numbers and ambitious tourism growth targets .

Read more: Americans think national parks are worth US$92 billion, but we don't fund them accordingly

The previous New Zealand government aimed to lift the contributions from natural resources to 40% of GDP by 2025 . DOC has been asked to prioritise spending on tourism-related operations over biodiversity spending such as pest control and species recovery programmes. This is inconsistent with the agency’s legislative mandate.

New Zealand law does not allow charging entry fees for PAs. Attempts to change that have been met with opposition from recreation groups and some tourism businesses. Tax instruments are generally opposed by the tourism industry .

Regulatory options for sustainable tourism

Concessions and planning are powerful tools for an ecologically sustainable use of PAs. Several regulatory approaches could help reverse biodiversity decline, while enhancing the environmental performance of tourism.

Concession contracts could include responsibilities that reflect the latest developments in conservation practice. Such contracts would need to be followed by adequate monitoring and enforcement. This has been used for some time in several countries, including Australia, Canada, Chile, Rwanda, South Africa and the United States . In these countries, concession contracts are also regularly revised to ensure businesses keep apace with environmental innovation, new ecological threats and changing pressures from visitors.

Concession applicants could be selected for their environmental track record and the most deserving environmental design of tourism services. Options here are tenders or auctions , which are already used in the countries mentioned above. Other methods should be used in parallel to ensure that small businesses are not disadvantaged. In the United States, the legal framework for concessions has been revised in 2010 to ensure this doesn’t happen.

The planning of tourism development needs to be sufficiently specific to the ecosystems in each zone. Under a concession plan, authorities determine the ideal location of particular tourism activities and maximum numbers of tourists and tourism operators. Recently, authorities have restricted the number of tourism operators allowed to operate in the Haleakala National Park in Hawai'i to only four, based on a concession management plan aiming to ensure environmentally and culturally acceptable tourism. Such planning is already practised in many countries, including Australia (Queensland, Western Australia), Canada, Rwanda and Argentina.

Best practice for doing business

Currently, New Zealand is not using best practice in regulation and planning. Concession contracts are designed on a “do no harm” approach. The culture has been that if concessionaires rectify and mitigate environmental effects, then all should be fine.

The 1987 Conservation Act enables DOC to insert environmental responsibilities and requirements. However, the analysis of 30 concession contracts and tens of official documents reveals that compliance with more generic environmental regulations is typically deemed sufficient. In addition, DOC’s performance on monitoring and enforcing concessions has raised many complaints, even from tourism operators.

Even more problematic is that DOC mostly uses the non-competitive “first-come first-served” method to allocate concessions in PA plans that do not use visitation quotas, except for a few tracks and sensitive sites, such as caves or wetlands.

The cumulative impact of approved concessions has led to a number of tourism hotspots in several national parks. For example, helicopter landings have increased dramatically in the Fiordland and Westland National Parks. The famous Tongariro Crossing track is now used by thousands of visitors on any day with reasonable weather.

However, DOC views this as a social carrying capacity issue . The government needs to demonstrate concern by implementing innovative regulatory and planning instruments with proven effectiveness. If a government cannot ask businesses that profit from access to a country’s most precious lands to use the best available environmental practices to manage biodiversity, then who can it ask?

• Conservation
• New Zealand
• Protected areas
• Sustainable tourism

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How tourism is 'eroding' NZ's world-famous environment

Jamie Morton

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New Zealand is risking "killing the goose that laid the golden egg" as tourists heap unsustainable strain on our world-famous backyard, environment watchdog Simon Upton says.

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment's latest report has described how, at nearly four million a year, international tourist numbers are putting nature under pressure – and those numbers could balloon to 10 to 13 million by 2050.

"The sheer numbers of people are eroding the sense of isolation, tranquillity and access to nature that many overseas tourists seek when visiting New Zealand," Upton said.

"And while we tend to focus on overseas visitors, the lion's share of tourist activity actually involves New Zealanders taking a break. We need to ask: are we in danger of killing the goose that laid the golden egg?"

Tourism's changing face

Upton said tourism had often been seen as an "environmentally benign" form of economic development.

And it was this, together with it being so closely interwoven with the wider economy, that had probably shielded it from the scrutiny attached to other industries such as agriculture.

"We didn't get to where we are overnight," he said.

"The phenomenon of crowded sites, crowded skies and crowded parking lots is the result of more than a century's worth of promotional taxpayer subsidy."

His report found the biggest change had come with the number of people drawn to iconic sites – and this was rising with population growth and technological development.

While the Government had historically been heavily involved in developing and operating tourism infrastructure and services, in more recent times, its role had shifted to a focus on international marketing and oversight.

Since the 1990s, especially, the Government had progressively had "a more hands-off" approach to management – while overseas tourist numbers climbed from around a million in 1990 to 3.8 million today.

Across the same period, expenditure from overseas tourists rose from $2.3 billion to $16.2 billion today – making it our largest source of export earnings.

Upton's report singled out various strategies and targets that had propelled this growth; among them, Tourism New Zealand's goal in the 1990s to draw three million tourists by 2000, and the wildly-successful 100% Pure New Zealand campaign.

The impacts

Some of the biggest environmental impacts singled out were degraded water quality, native species being lost or affected, new development, a "loss of natural quiet" from too many tourists – and rising emissions.

In 2017, emissions being generated by the tourism industry were estimated at around 12.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide – around a third of which could be attributed to air travel.

Those spots seeing the most pressure was popular Tongariro Alpine Crossing, now drawing 130,000 trampers each year, and Milford Sound, where visitor numbers had doubled to nearly a million within just 15 years, and were on track to hit two million by 2035.

Last year, Milford Sound, Aoraki/Mount Cook and Franz Josef were pulling in 2000 people each day, pushing car parks to full capacity and crowding viewing spots as visitors jostled for photos.

The report also turned to the amount of solid waste tourists were generating – some 70,000 to 180,000 tonnes of it each year, or equivalent to the annual amount sent to Hamilton's landfill.

But if tourism carried on under the status quo, the report projected that could grow to three million to 13 million tonnes by mid-century.

As concern has grown about the toll the surge was taking on the environment, governments had tried to respond with some measures to take the pressure off.

Those largely included focusing growth more on value, spreading tourists around more, improving visitor management, and raising awareness.

Yet each of those approaches still couldn't ease the mounting burden.

New initiatives like the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy and the development of destination management plans were promising, Upton found, but "considerably more ambition" was needed.

While finding current policies wouldn't fix the problem, Upton stopped short of suggesting his own solutions, which might be looked at in a later report.

"The overwhelming majority of New Zealanders would surely agree that the terms of our hospitality and responsibility for looking after our tourist destinations are ones the wider community, not just the industry, should determine."

'Fuller understanding' needed

Iain Cossar, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment's tourism general manager, acknowledged there was a need for a "fuller understanding and better management" of the impacts and costs.

"The costs of tourism include the broader impacts of visitors across financial, social, and environmental dimensions," Cossar said.

"A sustainable funding approach requires that tourism should meet the full costs of these wider impacts. A suite of tools is required to ensure that tourism can do this."

Along with the visitor levy, Cossar said the Government was rolling out new strategies and campaigns to address the pressures.

Other efforts included responsible camping initiatives, which the Government had put an extra $17m toward, and had driven "a dramatic fall" in the number of issues local councils were dealing with, Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis said.

"We also launched the Tiaki Promise last year, which is the result of Government and industry taking action together to guide positive behaviour and encourage visitors and Kiwis to care for and protect Aotearoa.

"There is a lot to digest in this report, and we look forward to doing that in coming months to better understand what any next steps might look like. " Gary Taylor, chair of the Environmental Defence Society, also described the report as a useful summary, and added the society was also undertaking its own investigation into the issue.

Forest and Bird chief executive Kevin Hague believed the focus should be on quality over quantity.

"The key has to be encouraging a longer, deeper, experience."

'Devastating consequences'

Regina Scheyvens, a Professor of Development Studies at Massey University, warned that a business-as-usual approach to growing our tourism sector would have "devastating consequences" for the natural environment.

"The report, quite rightly, notes that in contrast to the 'win-win-win' rhetoric promulgated by the sector trade-offs will need to be made – however trading on the integrity and wellbeing of our natural environment should not be an option," she said.

"We need to consider how tourism can protect the environment while enhancing the wellbeing of New Zealanders, both those working in the industry and those living in the places that tourists like to visit."

To protect natural assets – especially iconic sites and walks – she said it was likely that quotas would be needed.

"For example, charging $20 per adult during the peak season and putting a cap on total numbers per day to do popular walks like the Tongariro Crossing or Roy's Peak, could help to control the impact."

Further, she saw a need to inform future policy with Māori values, and boost resourcing for the Department of Conservation so it could redesign tourist experiences in the areas it managed.

Mark Newton, a researcher in people, policy and planning at the Nelson-based Cawthron Institute, said New Zealand had to decide whether it wanted to make a planned transition to a more sustainable tourism future - or to trust that continued growth to 2050 was viable.

"New Zealand has a long history of concern for the environmental impacts of tourism, but when 52 per cent of New Zealanders now think predicted tourism growth is 'too much', 43 per cent think tourism puts too much pressure on New Zealand, and more than a quarter think there are too many international visitors, it's time to take notice."

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Regenerative tourism futures: a case study of Aotearoa New Zealand

Journal of Tourism Futures

ISSN : 2055-5911

Article publication date: 10 May 2022

Issue publication date: 22 September 2022

This case study urges the future of visitor economy to rely on regenerative tourism to make tourism systems resilience in the long run.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper draws on published research and industry reports to discuss the future visitor economy and its impact on all dimensions of well-being focused on the case of Aotearoa New Zealand.

Results show that post-pandemic tourism transformation must protect and promote local identities, and enhance and enrich visitor experiences with a focus on cultural and natural heritage.

Originality/value

The recovery of tourism must not implement regenerative tourism as a new specific type of tourism but as a holistic understanding of tourism futures that encompasses communities and the environment, and where visitors are committed to preserve and protect our natural and socio-cultural environment.

• Aotearoa New Zealand
• Regenerative tourism
• Tourism transformation
• Visitor economy

Fusté-Forné, F. and Hussain, A. (2022), "Regenerative tourism futures: a case study of Aotearoa New Zealand", Journal of Tourism Futures , Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 346-351. https://doi.org/10.1108/JTF-01-2022-0027

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Francesc Fusté-Forné and Asif Hussain

Published in Journal of Tourism Futures . Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode .

Should we look back to move forward?

The planet has suffered the unsustainable consequences of tourism growth during the last decades ( Benjamin et al ., 2020 ; Gössling and Higham, 2021 ; Hussain et al ., 2021 ). Both domestic and international tourism relied on transport which heavily contributed to issues like climate change ( Dessens et al. , 2014 ; Scott et al ., 2012 ; Živoder et al ., 2015 ). While the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has brought limited tourism ( Fusté-Forné and Michael, 2021 ), the international tourist arrivals in 2020 reached 400 m ( UNWTO, 2022 ). The post-COVID tourism recovery suggests a regenerative tourism paradigm with a focus on conscious travel ( Hussain, 2021 ) which leads to an effective transformation of the way we think, plan and do tourism ( Ateljevic, 2020 ; Cheer, 2020 ; Sheldon, 2020 ). The impact of COVID-19 offers the opportunity to reset tourism ( Higgins-Desbiolles, 2020 ). The new holistic approach embraces the implementation of the regenerative tourism model ( Hussain and Haley, 2022 ) which acknowledges the complexity of tourism systems. In the framework of regenerative tourism, this research discusses that tourism transformation must involve all stakeholders in the creation of long-term social, cultural, environmental and economic well-being with a specific focus on the case of New Zealand. This will drive towards future tourism experiences that put the well-being of destination communities at the centre of tourism management and marketing because “people” must lead the future of visitor economy.

A case of regenerative tourism in Aotearoa New Zealand

The physical isolation and remoteness of New Zealand attracts people from places where it is difficult to escape the pressure of population and offers them a less dense destination. Both domestic and international tourism have contributed to nation's prosperity and has potential to enrich all aspects of lives and livelihood of the people of New Zealand ( Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, 2019 ; Tourism Futures Taskforce, 2020 ). The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the New Zealand tourism system which relied heavily on international tourists ( Fountain, 2021 ). Concerns about such dependency were raised in the past, however, it was the COVID-19 that showed us the severity of New Zealand's dependency on international tourists ( Hussain and Fusté-Forné, 2021 ). This shows that the tourism models, before COVID-19, were neither resilient nor sustainable ( Reis, 2020 ; Sheldon, 2021 ). More resilient tourism should rely on alternate tourism systems beyond capitalist practices, such as the regenerative economy because the traditional tourism models are not sustainable for the future. As Fountain (2021) also explains, the change to regenerative tourism should be based on three aspects: equity, sustainability and well-being.

New Zealand has focused on a balance between tourism and the well-being of its natural resources and local communities ( Glusac, 2020 ), where tourism businesses must lead the way to the achievement of New Zealand's regenerative tourism goals ( Waby, 2021 ). The importance of the stakeholders’ engagement in destination planning and development was acknowledged by the parliamentary commission report in 2019 which include government agencies, territorial authorities, iwi (a Māori tribe), hapū (Māori sub tribes) and commercial interest such as regional tourism organisations. The key aspect acknowledged in the report was that Ngāti Tūwharetoa (an example of iwi) sees themselves as guardians of Maunga Tongariro not as the owners. Therefore, “visitor behaviour is shaped to fit the maunga rather than the maunga being shaped to fit the visitors” ( Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, 2019 ). The recommendations of the report came as the time of the birth of COVID-19, which is why the report did not largely contribute towards stakeholder engagement for destination planning and product development yet.

In March 2020, New Zealand closed its borders for international tourism to stop the spread of COVID-19. This decision kept the COVID-19 out of the country, but it has had devastating impacts on destinations which heavily relied on international tourists ( RNZ, 2021 ; Stuff, 2021 ). Meanwhile the Minister of Tourism setup an independent tourism task force following a change from international travel to domestic tourism. The taskforce suggested that the future of New Zealand tourism must be regenerative and resilient with a focus on social, cultural, environmental and economic wellbeing. The key elements highlighted included the production of a genuine tourism product, unique life-changing experience, community engagement, opportunities to grow regeneratively, enrich value of Te Ao Māori, improve natural ecosystems and generate durable financial returns. The strategic tourism lines posted by the New Zealand Government calls for regenerative tourism which focuses on the partnership between industry, workers and government ( New Zealand Government, 2021 ).

During this time, various public and private agencies focused their research on meaning, essence and ways to develop regenerative tourism products and models. Regenerative initiatives such as “Project Regenerative Tourism” of Sustainability and Resilience Institute (SRI) of New Zealand, New Zealand Awaits, and The Seventh Generation Tours promote regenerative tourism research and experience for the visitor's to engage with the debate of regenerative tourism. The outcome of the “Project Regenerative Tourism” resulted in the development of a “Regenerative Tourism Model”. The model suggests the incorporation of all elements of social-ecological system into a system which is self-organising and embraces uncertainty and change in response of global shocks and trends. The model has also developed the indicators of regenerative tourism to measure the degree to which a tourism product of service is regenerative and sustainable. In addition, New Zealand Awaits encourages and shares conversation on the positive impact of travel experiences and learn about how regenerative tourism looks like in New Zealand through their podcast GOOD Awaits. The Seventh Generation Tours is a regenerative tourism enterprise which promotes the principles of Tūrangawaewae: know who you are, where you belong; Kaitiakitanga: protect that which you love; and Manaakitanga: share stories that enhance, so that you leave better. The tour “shares stories that regenerate, not only the listener, but the storyteller, the community and the place from which they come. The Sharing of important oral stories keeps them alive and passes them along, from one generation to the next as we are their guardians, and we must tell them well” ( The Seventh Generation, 2022 ).

At destination levels, Tourism Bay of Plenty (2022) develops tourism in harmony with place under the destination development plan Te Hā Tāpoi (The Love of Tourism) where harmony between visitation and place is a source of tourism value. Another example is the destination management plan for the district of Queenstown Lakes which shows a vision where tourism must put people and places at its centre to promote a viable and regenerative tourism future. In this sense, the plan aims to “create outcomes that enrich the district across all four well beings (social, cultural, environmental and economic) and enable a thriving future” ( Destination Queenstown, 2022 ).

Previous studies revealed the leading role of New Zealand in a structural change that leads to a regenerative tourism future (see, for example, Major and Clarke, 2021 ). Tourism stakeholders must commit “to decarbonisation and biodiversity conservation to drastically reduce the biophysical footprint of tourism” ( Higham et al. , 2021 , p. 7). In this sense, the Tourism Futures Taskforce Interim Report ( Tourism Futures Taskforce, 2020 ) anticipates the future of New Zealand tourism from a Te Ao Māori perspective to provide sustainable future scenarios driven by the following statement:

This understanding shows that the regenerative tourism paradigm does not only operate under a focus on economic well-being, but it also encapsulates environmental, cultural and social well-being. As previous research stated (see Becken and Kaur, 2021 ; Carr, 2020 ), Tiaki Promise aligns with the understanding of regenerative travel practices. Tiaki means to care for people and places and urges each individual “to act as a guardian, protecting and preserving our home” ( Tourism New Zealand, 2021 ). Tiaki Promise is a code based on the commitment by people to care for New Zealand, for now, and, especially, for future generations, which many New Zealand businesses also support.

Both academia and the industry show that there is a strong need to move from an extractive tourism system to a regenerative tourism system that “is rooted in indigenous knowledge and living systems theory” ( Major and Clarke, 2021 , p. 1). This is in line with recent research that reveals that “indigenous people, cultures, wisdom and values play an important role in defining a regenerative path for tourism” ( Sheldon, 2021 , p. 6). Following what Sheldon states regarding the post-pandemic tourism in the Hawaiian Islands, which is based on native Hawaiian values, this is similarly applied to a New Zealand context from a Māori perspective as observed above and again in Table 1 .

According to Matunga et al. (2020) , “while Māori have always been involved in tourism, there is a concerted movement by many Māori towards engagement with tourism as a means of reconnecting with cultural traditions, protecting natural resources and providing employment for whanau” (p. 295). They affirm that a balance between the development of tourism and the environmental impact is required to inform regenerative tourism that puts the relationship between people and places at the core centre of sustainable living and travelling ( Živoder et al. , 2015 ). Table 1 shows Māori values that inform “cultural, social, environmental and economic performance” ( Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu, 2016 , p. 5) as a source for a regenerative development of tourism. These values are embedded in the initiatives explained above and the practical examples show how these values are translated into visitor experiences which drive the future regenerative tourism.

The future of a regenerative tourism

This research understands regenerative tourism from the perspective of a future visitor economy which contributes to all the dimensions of well-being focused on the case study of New Zealand. Tourism futures are anticipated to focus on local rather than global and, even when people travel far, they will travel slow. “We will not go back to normal. Normal never was. Our pre-corona existence was not normal other than we normalised greed, inequity, exhaustion, depletion, extraction, disconnection, confusion, rage, hoarding, hate and lack. We should not long to return, my friends. We are being given the opportunity to stitch a new garment. One that fits all of humanity and nature” (Renee Taylor cited by Meyer, 2020 ). In this sense, regenerative tourism must rely on models that surpass the notion of capitalism ( Mura and Wijesinghe, 2021 ), and the regenerative economy is a driver of regenerative tourism. Sheldon (2021) states that regenerative tourism, as it is also developed in New Zealand, “represents a comprehensive and mature approach to designing the future of tourism” (p. 6) which is based on a change in travelers' minds ( Hussain, 2021 ) that build respectful ties to the planet.

New Zealand has just started the plan to reopen the borders for the first time in two years in March 2022. While it would be premature to state the learning lessons at this stage since the impact of the comeback of international tourism is still uncertain, this research shows the path towards a regenerative tourism. Indigenous communities, who have lived in the landscape for centuries, show resilience and adaptability. Their learning outcome was based on a long story of knowledge sharing which created livelihood-based resources and guardianship, expressed in the regenerative tourism model. According to Haley (2021 , p. 6), “if we look to natural systems and indigenous ways of knowing, we can see that a resilient system has a strong vitality or lifeforce (mauri), it is healthy and humans that live in that system are healthy. When we know where we are from and build strong connections to place (turangawaewae), we are able to share this knowledge with others (manaakitanga), and developing a strong sense of guardianship (kaitiakitanga) for this place and culture, making decisions that will sustain it for many generations into the future” (2021, p. 6).

Tourism operates depending on what tourism stakeholders value ( Pollock, 2012 ). The indigenous values should be pivotal to tourism management and marketing in destinations at both local and regional scales. The assumption of these values by the different stakeholders in tourism systems will lead to an effective regeneration of travel experiences in the next decades ( Fusté-Forné, 2021 ). We as researchers also play a part in the regenerative theory and practice of tourism futures. A regenerative tourism paradigm does not only drive a future visitor economy but also implements a new holistic understanding of the tourism system which embraces people, places and practices.

Māori values for regenerative travel

Source(s): Te Runanga o Ngai Tahu, 2016

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The Seventh Generation ( 2022 ), available at: https://theseventhgeneration.org .

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Tourism New Zealand ( 2021 ), “ Tiaki Promise ”, available at: https://tiakinewzealand.com .

UNWTO ( 2022 ), “ Impact assessment of the COVID-19 outbreak on international tourism ”, available at: https://www.unwto.org/impact-assessment-of-the-covid-19-outbreak-on-international-tourism .

Waby , T. ( 2021 ), “ Why New Zealand is leading the way with regenerative travel ”, Lonely Planet , available at: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/articles/regenerative-tourism-new-zealand .

Živoder , S.B. , Ateljević , I. and Čorak , S. ( 2015 ), “ Conscious travel and critical social theory meets destination marketing and management studies: lessons learned from Croatia ”, Journal of Destination Marketing and Management , Vol.  4 No.  1 , pp.  68 - 77 .

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COVID-19's impact on NZ Tourism

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Statistics NZ has today provided the first real measure of COVID-19's impact on Tourism. A third of New Zealand tourism jobs have disappeared in the first year of COVID-19, 25% of owner operators have been wiped out and the tourism sector has shrunk to the size it was 15 years ago. Chief Executive of Tourism Industry Aotearoa Chris Roberts explains how they are coping.

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Environmental impacts of tourism – Expert Reaction

The parliamentary commissioner for the environment (pce) simon upton warns that increasing numbers of tourists are eroding the very attributes that make new zealand such an attractive country to visit..

The Commissioner has released a report on the environmental consequences of projected tourism growth in New Zealand. He says tourism is often seen as an environmentally benign form of economic development, but it does place a number of strains on the environment, including:

• visitor density and loss of natural quiet;
• water quality degradation;
• solid waste generation and management;
• infrastructure development and landscape modification;
• biodiversity loss and biosecurity risk;
• greenhouse gas emissions.

Despite a longstanding emphasis on sustainability, the Commissioner says the existing policy mix is unlikely to prevent a worsening of tourism’s environmental burden.

While the report summarises concerns about the environmental impacts of tourism, it does not make any policy recommendations – these will come in a second report next year.

The SMC asked experts to comment on the PCE’s report. Feel free to use these comments in your reporting.

Professor Regina Scheyvens, Professor of Development Studies, Massey University, comments: 

“To date New Zealand has been relatively immune to the strident protests about ‘overtourism’ that have hit major European cities like Barcelona and Venice in recent years.

“This timely, considered and comprehensive PCE report signals that we can no longer be complacent. A business-as-usual approach to growing our tourism sector will have devastating consequences for the natural environment which is the major drawcard for our tourists.

“The report, quite rightly, notes that in contrast to the ‘win-win-win’ rhetoric promulgated by the sector (i.e. that we can grow tourism numbers, and provide quality jobs, and protect the environment), trade-offs will need to be made – however trading on the integrity and wellbeing of our natural environment should not be an option.

“A useful approach is taken by organisations like Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development ( ATEED ) which seeks to make Auckland a great place to live, a great place to work, and a great place to visit.

“We need to see tourism in this holistic, integrated way in terms of how it aligns with broader national goals. We need to consider how tourism can protect the environment while enhancing the wellbeing of New Zealanders, both those working in the industry and those living in the places that tourists like to visit.

“Current government policies of geographical and seasonal dispersal of visitors are a useful step in the right direction. In weighing up priorities, the wellbeing of our environmentally-blessed but economically challenged regions, including Northland and Westland, should be prioritised. Using the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy to invest in these places, and the people living there, is critical.

“While the report quite rightly notes that domestic tourists have a big impact too, our carbon footprint is typically far smaller because we are not taking long-haul flights. In addition, we tend to travel to more places that are off the tourism map, and support locally-owned businesses such as motels and camping grounds, providing enduring economic multiplier effects. A campaign to encourage more tourism ‘at home’ (like the iconic 1980s advertisement ‘Don’t leave town ‘til you’ve seen the country’), could mean fewer emissions from overseas flights by New Zealanders as well.

“Regarding the question of how to protect our natural assets, especially iconic sites and walks, in future, it is likely that quotas will be needed. For example, charging $20 per adult during the peak season and putting a cap on total numbers per day to do popular walks like the Tongariro Crossing or Roy’s Peak, could help to control the impact.

“With any quota system, securing access for New Zealanders – especially those of low economic means – is important. There needs to be a sense that we, as New Zealanders, are all kaitiaki of our precious natural environment and that can only come if we all have the chance to learn about and enjoy experiences in nature.

“Future policy should be informed more deeply by Māori values. A Māori tourism operator on the Whanganui River told me he believes every boat taking tourists on that river – whose spiritual significance is now recognised through the river being granted legal personhood – should have a cultural guide. Their role would be to better inform tourists of the intertwined cultural, spiritual and natural elements of that unique environment, and to ensure respectful behaviour from visitors.

“Fundamentally, the Department of Conservation needs more resources to re-design tourist experiences in conservation areas of New Zealand, providing better infrastructure in high use, short walk areas (e.g. boardwalks) to minimise environmental damage, and dispersing more adventurous tourists to lesser-used, but still well-serviced, trails and locations.”

Declared conflict of interest: Convenor of the Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals conference 2019. 

Professor Michael Lueck, Professor of Tourism, School of Hospitality & Tourism, Auckland University of Technology, comments: 

“The report is very timely, and desperately needed. It is comprehensive and covers the most important problems, including some projections on how the future may look. It states that ‘tourism’s footprint is starting to become a source of environmental concern in New Zealand’, but it is obvious that we are well beyond the starting point – these concerns have existed for over two decades, and become increasingly urgent.

“The report deliberately does not offer any solutions or strategies, which is promised to come in the near future. It is clear that tourism cannot grow at the pace it currently does, and that New Zealand must urgently find ways to curb this growth.

“As an island nation, we are dependent on international air travel (both in- and outbound), with little opportunity for change – at least in the short term. However, domestic travel can be modified, and we can learn from other places. Electric propulsion, for example, is not just an option for road and rail travel, but developments for regional e-aircraft are well advanced. In its ambition to become the first 100% electrified airline in the world, the Canadian Harbour Air, is in the phase of  testing its first electric aircraft  – a modified DHC Beaver, which is more than 60 years old. Air New Zealand is also looking at e-options for its regional fleet. Jucy has introduced a subfleet of e-campers and Blue Cars has a fleet of EVs for rent on Waiheke Island and in Auckland.

“The environmental burden lies mostly in extremely popular areas, and New Zealand experiences overtourism similar to large cities in Europe (e.g., Amsterdam, Venice, Barcelona), where an active anti-tourism movement arose. But in New Zealand, overtourism mostly affects natural areas, and these need to be managed carefully. A range of policy and management options are available and need to be implemented. We can learn from numerous examples around the globe, and adopt successful schemes and policies.

“The often heralded dispersal of visitors offers very limited success, often spreading the problem, rather than solving it. A good example is how  Zion National Park  manages their onslaught of visitors: Private cars, RVs and buses need to be left in a car park at the park entrance, and a free and frequent ‘road train’ shuttles visitors to and from the main points in the park. This could be a cost-effective solution for Milford Sound.

“It may also be prudent to rethink the National Park Act, which provides for free access to the conservation estate. Park fees have been successfully implemented in other countries (e.g., USA, South Africa), and there are fair and financially viable options to implement these, without having a toll booth at each access point.

“It appears that the main problem is the sheer number of tourists, and we need to look at slowing this growth. The often cited ‘high-value tourism’, or ‘quality over quantity’ does not always work, but it would be fairly easy to, for example, limit the number of cruise ships coming into the country. These put a disproportional burden on New Zealand’s infrastructure, environment, and culture, while the economic benefits are comparatively small.”

Declared conflict of interest: None

Mark Newton, Scientist – People, Policy and Planning, Cawthron Institute,  comments: 

“This is an important report that I hope initiates a national conversation about the kind of future New Zealanders want for tourism. The report argues that tourism growth will continue until 2050, resulting in a range of environmental impacts; that government policy is insufficient to mitigate those impacts; and that this is of increasing concern to the New Zealand public.

“New Zealand has a long history of concern for the environmental impacts of tourism, but when 52% of New Zealanders now think predicted tourism growth is ‘too much’ (up from 30% in 2015), 43% think tourism puts too much pressure on New Zealand, and more than a quarter think there are too many international visitors, it’s time to take notice. [Page 72 of the report]

“We know from our research at Cawthron, and international research of other industries, that environmental impacts can be an important factor for the communities who may grant or withhold social licence to operate. But, also important is the perceived quality, or authenticity, with which governments and industry engage with, and listen to, stakeholders and indigenous groups on important issues.

“New Zealand must now decide whether it wants to make a planned transition to a more sustainable tourism future, or to trust that continued growth to 2050 is viable. For a planned transition, it will be imperative that government and industry meaningfully engage with communities, iwi and hapū to reimagine the future of tourism to ensure this vital industry can provide long-term, sustainable prosperity for New Zealand.”

Declared conflict of interest: None.

Professor Michael Hall, Department of Marketing, University of Canterbury,   comments: 

“The PCE’s report represents a valuable contribution to the debate over the nature and direction of tourism in New Zealand. It correctly identifies that the fundamental issues surrounding visitor growth and its environmental, social and economic impacts have changed little in the 20 years since the previous PCE report. Despite all the talk about sustainability, it reinforces the fact that tourism in this country basically operates on a ‘business as usual’ basis with an emphasis on growth, we don’t have a good set of indicators to measure the environmental and cultural impact of tourism, and there is an over-reliance on self-regulation.

“A core issue for international tourism to New Zealand is going to be how to mitigate the emissions from tourists coming here – whether by air or sea. The number of people engaging in voluntary emissions offsetting is tiny – and New Zealanders travelling overseas actually appear worse in offsetting than some markets coming here. This is clearly not only a challenge for New Zealand’s environmental credentials but for the planet as whole.

“The report identifies some of the key environmental pressures arising from tourism but, as it notes, present policies and strategies of dealing with it are limited. As the inquiry progresses they will need to look at international practices including perhaps looking at actually limiting visitor growth in some locations.

“In some areas, undesirable environmental and social impacts are the flip side of dispersing tourists into regional New Zealand. Tourism can help support public services in some locations that might otherwise be marginal. However, many rural areas clearly need to carefully consider how they can best respond to the temporary growth in their population from tourism. Tourists are possibly more visible in the regions than in the cities but urban areas are also impacted by tourism and this is a concern that the PCE may need to consider in the next stage of the investigation.”

No conflict of interest.

Professor Chris Ryan, Director, BUU China-New Zealand Tourism Research Unit, University of Waikato Management School, comments:

“The problems identified in the report are congruent with many concerns voiced in the academic literature even since Sir George Young’s book, Tourism: Blessing or Blight?  published in 1973. Indeed the warnings go yet earlier as discussed by Dick Butler in his introductions to the two books published in 2005 that assessed his ‘tourist area life cycle’ concept. Yet in those days the world’s population was less, and fewer engaged in global travel, and the numbers today are probably less than those who will be travelling in a decade’s time. Thus far, the responses have been to develop new attractions and seek to follow better site management techniques.

“However, one can suggest tourism is at a critical point in its development. Despite lower pollution per passenger kilometre travelled, any such savings are being overcome by the increases in the numbers travelling. Currently, China’s middle class of some 400 million is about one-third of its population, and of this number, outbound tourists make up about 148 million. The potential for greater tourist numbers is evident, and behind China there is India with its even slightly larger population. One can, using the economist’s phrase, ceteris paribus , only expect the numbers of tourists to grow yet more with all the costs and revenues indicated in the report.

“In 2012, Ian Yeoman and John Moriarty’s FORST-funded project on  scenarios for New Zealand’s tourism  envisaged one possible scenario for 2050, namely that of ‘New Zealand – Eco-Paradise’.  In postulating this. they pointed out some simple basic facts. New Zealand is both a long way from other countries, and most arrive by aircraft. Hence, New Zealand, theoretically, could simply control inbound numbers by limiting airline scheduling. They envisaged an eco-friendly tourism industry based on lower numbers of inbound tourists, but on undertaking an economic analysis of the implications of such a policy, estimated that, over time, visitation would fall by 50% with a significant decline in tourism’s contribution to economic growth.

“This highlights a basic premise – tourism is at the nexus of a number of concerns – infrastructure, environmental, social, technological, and ethical which effectively are about the constructs of power and political systems. Tourism simply reflects the political will and the structures that give voice to that will. If society wishes to seek economic growth without asking what the purpose is of economic growth, then the numbers of tourists and the environmental problems listed in the report will continue unabated, unless one becomes more skilled in management. Tourism, some would argue, is not a social or environmental problem, but fundamentally a political problem where politics is about power structures. This approach changes any approach to the solution of problems, and one wonders to what extent the second report might explore these wider societal problems.

“The report is excellent in many ways, but I did wonder if it had largely ignored the role of technological development. With 5G services being introduced to New Zealand this month, the potential goes beyond simply faster communications. Artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and algorithm development requires not just faster communication of data – but more data. The greater the amount of data, the greater the learning and algorithm development.  Such factors permit greater and better identification of tourist types and behaviours, greater and faster means of flow control and less polluting effects. It also creates the potential for more types of tourist products, while simultaneously possibly creating a demand for the less technological product.

“As the report itself comments, one cannot necessarily assume that the status quo will be perpetuated as new technologies become evident through the internet of things – but I am of the opinion that the deficiencies in data noted by the report will be addressed in the near future, and this will permit better management of sites – but even this statement is premised on the need for more physical controls such as permits and quotas.”

Declared conflict of interest: None.

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• Making the most of sustainable tourism in New Zealand

There are already some great options to support the growth of sustainable tourism in New Zealand. There are also some really practical actions that we, as tourists, can take as we move around our beautiful country. SBN is working to lift the support for this work, bringing organisations together to create and embed something truly transformative – ideally restorative – as tourism here continues to grow.

There are a range of sustainability ‘certifications and commitments’ to look out for as tourists travelling in New Zealand. They will help you get the experience you want, while also working more in harmony with nature and local people.

But no matter what certifications and accreditations a tourism operator has, it’s most important to ask lots of questions and give back where you can. This helps ensure their operations align with your values, It sends a strong signal of support back into the tourism sector. It helps to keep them honouring the commitments they have signed up to. It lets them know the value of this work, and that people care enough to talk about it.

Look out for:

Qualmark  is owned by Tourism New Zealand and is New Zealand’s official  quality  accreditation programme for tourism businesses. It is based on assessing businesses in four key criteria: health and safety, environment, social/people and economic.

Committed to Sustainable Tourism

Led by Tourism Industry Aotearoa, the  New Zealand Tourism Sustainability Commitment  is a voluntary self-reporting set of 14 sustainability commitments.

The Sustainable Business Network Directory

Formed in 2002, SBN has more than 500 member organisations committed to progress in sustainable business. Its  Directory  includes hotels, campervan operators, nationwide attractions, cafes, restaurants and more.

Conscious Consumers

The  Conscious Consumers  App helps travellers identify cafes and restaurants that align with their values. It also offers great deals and enables you to track how much you’ve spent at accredited businesses.

Enviro-Mark, carboNZero and CEMARS

These are New Zealand’s world class  programmes  for efficient, credible carbon footprint calculation, reporting and reduction. Look out for these accreditations, and find out more about what the holders are doing to help tackle climate change.

What else you can do to make your trip more sustainable and enriching for everyone involved:

1. Give feedback

Many of us don’t like to ‘make a fuss’ when we are on holiday. We let a lot of things slide. However, polite feedback is really useful in generating a better experience for everybody. In a  recent study released by Green Lodgings  44 percent of surveyed hotels said guest comments had triggered changes towards sustainability.

2. Learn about New Zealand culture

A little time learning about New Zealand’s history and culture will pay back many times over when travelling around.

3. Minimise waste

It’s easy to let good habits slip while you are on holiday, even if they are well established in your home routines. But plan ahead. Bring a reusable water bottle with you and fill up as you go. Carry some extra bags for shopping so you can so no to the plastic ones while shopping. Choose local food options where you can and  Fair Trade  where you can’t.

4. Cut the carbon

If you come from overseas you’ll have generated a pretty hefty carbon footprint getting here. So it’s good to look out for options like  Ekos  to offset your flight.

The more environmentally friendly ways to get around tend to be slower. Consider walking, cycling, going by bus or train and kayaking. Avoid driving, motorbikes and motorboats where possible. Travelling slower means you can get to know places and people better too.

If you do need a vehicle, check out the electric vehicle options. They include everything from electric bicycles to camper vans, and about 75% of New Zealand’s electricity comes from renewable sources. Major cities like Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington now have electric car share or bike rental options. These include  Mevo  in Wellington and  CityHop  in Auckland.

SBN is currently working with  GOOD Travel  and  TIA  to develop a more comprehensive sustainable tourism offering for New Zealand with a range of proposals being worked on now. We are establishing a regional pilot projects, with Queenstown Lakes District Council being our first region to support operators and tourists in this global tourism hotspot. SBN Member THL also recently put forward its own Kiwi  version  of Iceland’s responsible tourism pledge.

SBN CEO Rachel Brown says: “Tourism is New Zealand’s second most valuable export. It relies almost entirely on protecting the natural beauty of this country. That puts tourism businesses front of the line in developing and promoting sustainable business models for this country.

“Because this is increasingly important to the modern traveller, this will also help ensure New Zealand’s continued success as a world class destination.”

If you would like to know more about SBN’s tourism work, contact [email protected]

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weighted by gender, age, and region to be representative of the New Zealand population based on 2018 population estimates

Online survey

Minimum quotas were set to ensure sufficient representation from traditional tourism hotspots. Participants were asked about their perception of the impacts of tourism on culture, values, and heritage using a five point scale where 1 = strongly disagree and 5 = strongly agree. Only responses indicating strong disagreement (1) and disagreement (2) are represented in this dataset.

Other statistics on the topic

Leisure Travel

• Leading outbound travel destinations from the UK 2019-2023
• Inbound tourist visits to the UK 2002-2023
• Leading UK cities for international tourism 2019-2023, by visits

Accommodation

• Most popular hotel brands in the UK Q3 2023

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Statistics on " Travel and tourism in the United Kingdom (UK) "

• Travel and tourism's total contribution to GDP in the UK 2019-2022
• Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in the UK 2019-2022, by type
• Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in the UK 2019-2022, by tourist type
• Travel and tourism's total contribution to employment in the UK 2019-2022
• Median full-time salary in tourism and hospitality industries in the UK 2023
• CPI inflation rate of travel and tourism services in the UK 2023
• Inbound tourist visits to the UK 2019-2022, by purpose of trip
• Leading inbound travel markets in the UK 2019-2022, by number of visits
• Leading inbound travel markets in the UK 2023, by growth in travel demand on Google
• Number of overnight stays by inbound tourists in the UK 2004-2022
• International tourist spending in the UK 2004-2024
• Leading inbound travel markets for the UK 2019-2023, by spending
• Number of outbound tourist visits from the UK 2007-2023
• Outbound tourism visits from the UK 2019-2022, by purpose
• Leading outbound travel markets in the UK 2023, by growth in travel demand on Google
• Number of outbound overnight stays by UK residents 2011-2023
• Outbound tourism expenditure in the UK 2007-2023
• Domestic overnight trips in Great Britain 2010-2022
• Domestic tourism trips in Great Britain 2018-2022, by purpose
• Number of domestic overnight trips in Great Britain 2023, by destination type
• Number of tourism day visits in Great Britain 2011-2022
• Total domestic travel expenditure in Great Britain 2019-2022
• Domestic overnight tourism spending in Great Britain 2010-2022
• Expenditure on domestic day trips in Great Britain 2011-2022
• Average spend on domestic summer holidays in the United Kingdom (UK) 2011-2023
• Number of accommodation businesses in the United Kingdom (UK) 2008-2021
• Number of accommodation enterprises in the United Kingdom (UK) 2018-2021, by type
• Turnover of accommodation businesses in the United Kingdom (UK) 2008-2021
• Turnover of accommodation services in the United Kingdom (UK) 2015-2021, by sector
• Number of hotel businesses in the United Kingdom (UK) 2008-2021
• Consumer expenditure on accommodation in the UK 2005-2022
• Attitudes towards traveling in the UK 2024
• Travel frequency for private purposes in the UK 2024
• Travel frequency for business purposes in the UK 2024
• Share of Britons taking days of holiday 2019-2023, by number of days
• Share of Britons who did not take any holiday days 2019-2023, by gender
• Share of Britons who did not take any holiday days 2019-2023, by age
• Leading regions for summer staycations in the UK 2024
• Preferred methods to book the next overseas holiday in the UK October 2022, by age
• Travel & Tourism market revenue in the United Kingdom 2018-2028, by segment
• Travel & Tourism market revenue growth in the UK 2019-2028, by segment
• Revenue forecast in selected countries in the Travel & Tourism market in 2024
• Number of users of package holidays in the UK 2018-2028
• Number of users of hotels in the UK 2018-2028
• Number of users of vacation rentals in the UK 2018-2028

Other statistics that may interest you Travel and tourism in the United Kingdom (UK)

• Basic Statistic Travel and tourism's total contribution to GDP in the UK 2019-2022
• Basic Statistic Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in the UK 2019-2022, by type
• Basic Statistic Distribution of travel and tourism expenditure in the UK 2019-2022, by tourist type
• Basic Statistic Travel and tourism's total contribution to employment in the UK 2019-2022
• Premium Statistic Median full-time salary in tourism and hospitality industries in the UK 2023
• Premium Statistic CPI inflation rate of travel and tourism services in the UK 2023

Inbound tourism

• Basic Statistic Inbound tourist visits to the UK 2002-2023
• Premium Statistic Inbound tourist visits to the UK 2019-2022, by purpose of trip
• Basic Statistic Leading inbound travel markets in the UK 2019-2022, by number of visits
• Premium Statistic Leading inbound travel markets in the UK 2023, by growth in travel demand on Google
• Premium Statistic Number of overnight stays by inbound tourists in the UK 2004-2022
• Premium Statistic International tourist spending in the UK 2004-2024
• Premium Statistic Leading inbound travel markets for the UK 2019-2023, by spending
• Premium Statistic Leading UK cities for international tourism 2019-2023, by visits

Outbound tourism

• Premium Statistic Number of outbound tourist visits from the UK 2007-2023
• Premium Statistic Outbound tourism visits from the UK 2019-2022, by purpose
• Premium Statistic Leading outbound travel destinations from the UK 2019-2023
• Premium Statistic Leading outbound travel markets in the UK 2023, by growth in travel demand on Google
• Premium Statistic Number of outbound overnight stays by UK residents 2011-2023
• Premium Statistic Outbound tourism expenditure in the UK 2007-2023

Domestic tourism

• Premium Statistic Domestic overnight trips in Great Britain 2010-2022
• Premium Statistic Domestic tourism trips in Great Britain 2018-2022, by purpose
• Premium Statistic Number of domestic overnight trips in Great Britain 2023, by destination type
• Premium Statistic Number of tourism day visits in Great Britain 2011-2022
• Premium Statistic Total domestic travel expenditure in Great Britain 2019-2022
• Premium Statistic Domestic overnight tourism spending in Great Britain 2010-2022
• Premium Statistic Expenditure on domestic day trips in Great Britain 2011-2022
• Premium Statistic Average spend on domestic summer holidays in the United Kingdom (UK) 2011-2023
• Premium Statistic Number of accommodation businesses in the United Kingdom (UK) 2008-2021
• Premium Statistic Number of accommodation enterprises in the United Kingdom (UK) 2018-2021, by type
• Premium Statistic Turnover of accommodation businesses in the United Kingdom (UK) 2008-2021
• Premium Statistic Turnover of accommodation services in the United Kingdom (UK) 2015-2021, by sector
• Premium Statistic Number of hotel businesses in the United Kingdom (UK) 2008-2021
• Basic Statistic Most popular hotel brands in the UK Q3 2023
• Premium Statistic Consumer expenditure on accommodation in the UK 2005-2022

Travel behavior

• Premium Statistic Attitudes towards traveling in the UK 2024
• Premium Statistic Travel frequency for private purposes in the UK 2024
• Premium Statistic Travel frequency for business purposes in the UK 2024
• Premium Statistic Share of Britons taking days of holiday 2019-2023, by number of days
• Premium Statistic Share of Britons who did not take any holiday days 2019-2023, by gender
• Premium Statistic Share of Britons who did not take any holiday days 2019-2023, by age
• Premium Statistic Leading regions for summer staycations in the UK 2024
• Premium Statistic Preferred methods to book the next overseas holiday in the UK October 2022, by age
• Premium Statistic Travel & Tourism market revenue in the United Kingdom 2018-2028, by segment
• Premium Statistic Travel & Tourism market revenue growth in the UK 2019-2028, by segment
• Premium Statistic Revenue forecast in selected countries in the Travel & Tourism market in 2024
• Premium Statistic Number of users of package holidays in the UK 2018-2028
• Premium Statistic Number of users of hotels in the UK 2018-2028
• Premium Statistic Number of users of vacation rentals in the UK 2018-2028

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