Draft tourism industry strategy launched

By NZPA

Wednesday 16th May 2007

The Draft New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2015 released today is a call to action to everyone involved in tourism, which includes just about the whole country, says Tourism Industry Association chief executive Fiona Luhrs.

Fierce competition from new destinations, critical staff shortages and an intense focus on New Zealand's environmental credentials from key visitor markets were just a few of the challenges needing to be tackled, she said.

Central to the draft strategy was sustainability in its broadest sense, with a particular focus on environmental management. More and more travellers were taking the environment into consideration when making travel plans.

With more than a third of land in New Zealand under conservation management, renewable energy supplies and a strong commitment by many operators, New Zealand had a fantastic story to tell.

But it was not acceptable to drive inefficient vehicles and manage waste as poorly as was done in many areas.

More generally, financial viability of individual firms was critical so operators could make sufficient returns to grow and re-invest in their businesses, Luhrs said.

Employees in the industry needed to be paid more competitive wages and given the development opportunities that kept them in tourism long term.

The draft strategy also focused on the mutually beneficial relationship between tourism and communities.

It was about making sure tourism businesses were in tune with the values of local communities, Luhrs said.

It was also about ensuring the contribution of tourism was recognised. That contribution might be anything from the funding and rebuilding of heritage areas in a city, to providing enough visitor business to support a rural community.

The draft strategy outlined the opportunities and the challenges ahead, providing actions and recommendations.

Now government and the industry needed to step up.

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