Tourism Export Council says water is the new global ‘gold’!

Tourism Export Council says water is the new global ‘gold’!

The Tourism Export Council (TEC) was pleased to support the Tourism Industry Association’s submission on the “Next Steps for Freshwater” Consultation Document on behalf of the sector. It sends a strong message to Government that New Zealanders and the tourism industry are committed to leaving clean, safe freshwater for the next generation.

“A significant motivation for visitors choosing destination New Zealand is our clean, green image and we want to ensure this reputation lasts for generations to come” says TEC Chief Executive, Lesley Immink. The tourism industry is concerned that if more is not done to immediately protect the environment and our waterways, our clean, green marketing proposition could be quite different in 50-100 years.

“We believe water quality to be the single greatest challenge to maintaining New Zealand’s environmental promise,” says Ms Immink

While the Land and Water Forum Reports and the Next Steps for Freshwater Consultation Document show good progress in identifying our freshwater challenges of the past; until the question of water ownership and pricing are properly resolved it will be difficult to achieve efficient management of our freshwater resources. New Zealand needs to move to some form of water pricing to achieve the best use of this valuable and finite resource and protect the health and wealth of our nation.

New Zealand is richly blessed with fresh water. We have 145 million litres per person – six times as much as Australia, 16 times as much as the US and 70 times as much as China or the UK. However, we need to value it appropriately with all the right environmental protection mechanisms in place.

Clean water is the new global ‘gold’ so we should protect it for ourselves and treat it like the precious commodity it is.

Tourism Export Council of New Zealand Background:

The Tourism Export Council of New Zealand is the commercial business association that has represented the interest of inbound tourism since 1971. It represents 1300 tour operators and product suppliers throughout the country who package, distribute and market New Zealand tourism products and services internationally.

ENDS:

© Scoop Media