Fresh water clean-up a good start but more work needed
The allocation of Government funding of $44 million to clean up 100 New Zealand rivers and lakes is a good start to
improving fresh water quality but a lot more needs to be done, Tourism Industry Aotearoa says.
“Clean, fresh water is essential to many of our most iconic adventure tourism activities, including rafting, kayaking,
jet boating and fishing. TIA is a long-term member of the Land & Water Forum and has continually highlighted the importance of high quality fresh water for our industry,” TIA Chief
Executive Chris Roberts says.
“We are pleased to see the Government taking this step towards improving our lakes and rivers but we are keen to see it
go even further. As we said in our submission to the Ministry for the Environment’s Clean Water consultation document
earlier this year, we are not convinced the Government’s $100 million Freshwater Improvement Fund will be enough to
bring about the required improvements.”
TIA’s Tourism Election Manifesto, Tourism for Tomorrow, calls on the Incoming Government to demonstrate a serious commitment to protecting the environment, recognising its
importance to tourism. This includes a commitment to enhancing New Zealand’s fresh water resources.
TIA is currently developing strategies to support the tourism industry’s commitment to environmental, economic and
social sustainability, with a launch planned at the Tourism Summit Aotearoa in Wellington on 14 November.
“New Zealand’s natural environment is our most important tourism product. It’s the main reason why international
visitors come here, it’s important to domestic travel and it supports thousands of tourism businesses. We look forward
to working with the new Government to reach these goals,” Mr Roberts says.
To read TIA’s submission to the Ministry for the Environment’s Clean Water consultation document, go tohttps://tia.org.nz/assets/Uploads/TIA-submission-Clean-Water-2018.pdf
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