Environmental sustainability an opportunity for NZ

Environmental sustainability an opportunity for New Zealand

The Tourism Industry Association represents 2000 businesses and organisations within the tourism industry.

Members include airlines, airport companies, and regional tourism organisations, rental car, coach and taxi companies, inbound tour operators, accommodation providers, tourism attractions, researchers, training organisations and tourism services providers.

Tourism is New Zealand’s largest export earner – accounting for 19.2% of this country’s export earnings.

The Tourism Industry Association organises the New Zealand Tourism Industry Conference, TRENZ, PURE LUXURY New Zealand and the New Zealand Tourism Industry Awards.

Go to www.tianz.org.nz Growing consumer awareness of environmental issues presents a timely opportunity for New Zealand’s tourism industry, Tourism Industry Association Chief Executive Fiona Luhrs says.

Speaking today at the Tourism Industry Conference 2007 (SKYCITY Convention Centre, Auckland, 29-30 August), Ms Luhrs said New Zealand’s environment and scenery are the primary drawcards for international visitors.

“But we are a long-haul destination for most of our international markets, and concerns about carbon emissions and the environmental impacts of travel are increasing in the UK and Germany in particular. We have an opportunity to ensure international visitors are compelled to travel to New Zealand because we offer outstanding, world class, ‘responsible travel’ choices.”

More than 300 representatives of New Zealand’s $18.6 billion tourism industry spent the day focusing on ways to meet the challenges of increasing environmental awareness among international visitors.

Ms Luhrs said that many tourism operators were already doing a lot to reduce their impact on the environment in which they work. Today’s sessions included a panel featuring five such operators – Awaroa Lodge in Abel Tasman National Park, White Island Tours, Dive! Tutukaka, InterCity Group and Potiki Adventures of Auckland – who each have a strong commitment to environmental sustainability.

Other speakers included representatives of a variety of agencies who can assist tourism businesses to become more sustainable, including Landcare Research, the Ministry for the Environment, Qualmark, Green Globe, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) and the Department of Conservation (DOC).

“However, tourism does not operate in isolation. The visitor’s experience
starts when they arrive at the border and ends when they leave New Zealand. During much of that time, they are meeting ordinary New Zealanders and businesses that are not directly involved in tourism. So we need the support of local government and other agencies, to provide recycling facilities for instance. I was delighted to hear Prime Minister Helen Clark, who opened the conference, publicly make a commitment to increased government support for recycling,” Ms Luhrs said.

The conference continues tomorrow, Thursday 30 August, when the focus will be on domestic tourism and seasonality, and building the relationship between the tourism industry and the communities in which they operate.

For more details on the conference programme, go to www.nztourismconference.co.nz

The Tourism Industry Conference is recognised as the most important annual forum for the tourism industry. The conference is managed by TIA, with support from key industry partners including the Ministry of Tourism and Tourism New Zealand.

Key statistics about tourism:

 Tourism is the world's fastest growing industry
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 New Zealand tourism arrivals have increased by 61% since 1999 to 2.4 million
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 Forecast annual growth is 4% on average for at least the next five years
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 Tourism is New Zealand's single largest export sector and contributed $8.3 billion dollars to the economy in the year ended March 2006. That is 19.2% of exports
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 Domestic tourism contributes $10.3 billion to the economy each year
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 Tourism directly and indirectly employs 10 percent of the work force. That is one in 10 jobs in New Zealand.
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 Tourism represents 8.9% ($12.8 billion) of gross domestic product and generates $531 million in GST returns from international visitors each year. Tourism is the only export sector whose international clients pay GST.
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