Developing Sustainability Practices

Pre Covid, a number of surveys revealed that large tourism numbers were resulting in negative feelings towards the industry, in many areas of New Zealand. At present, while tourist operators are focused on economic survival and associated issues such as attraction and retention of staff, there is a general mood to work towards adopting more sustainable practices.

As stated by the UNWTO, expressed simply, sustainable tourism can be defined as:

"Tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities”.

Many tourism business websites now have a specific Sustainability and/or Conservation section as tourists today are making more informed, responsible choices because of the increasing awareness of the impact travel and tourism has on both the physical and socio-cultural environment. Awareness of the climate change challenge and other threats to natural environments and their flora and fauna means what is now accepted by tourists and their level of awareness of their impact is rapidly changing. This results in travellers actively seeking out services and experiences that benefit both the local population and the physical environment in which they are interacting.

We guess the questions to ask are….” Is your operation operating responsibly, benefiting both people and place?” and “How do you give back to People and Place?”

Addressing an operation’s carbon footprint is becoming more common today. Costs of accreditation and time commitment can be issues and our thoughts are that as many operators tell their story about various pest eradication and other conservation initiatives they support, why not tell the story of how you are attempting to measure and reduce your carbon footprint? Does a lack of an “official” carbon footprint logo detract that much from a story which shows that you are committed to moving towards becoming a carbon zero business?

Both of us have worked on vessels in Fiordland and Stewart Island and now have a house on the Island. It is a privilege to have worked in such special areas and this has heightened our passion for and respect of New Zealand’s special and unique natural environment.

John was on the initial leadership group for Predator Free Rakiura and is now a member of the Engagement and Advisory Group for this organization. He has recently been appointed as Fiordland Marine Guardian by the Ministry for the Environment and is a member of the Tuckers Beach Wildlife Reserve supporters’ group.

As Qualmark assessors, we both have evaluated the sustainable efforts of hundreds of operations over the years. This involved us encouraging tourism businesses to implement initiatives that supported both the community they were based in and the environment they operated in. We can bring these experiences to help you become more sustainable and support initiatives with both “people and place.”

We operate out of Queenstown and are part of the initiative to ensure the tourism industry here is Carbon Zero by 2030. I (John) have attended relevant meetings and we both have attended meetings on Queenstown’s Sustainable Destination Plan.

John guides American University Sustainability students on a 3-week study trip around the South Island. Part of that responsibility is to deliver several lectures on sustainability topics such as managing visitor impact, sustainable tourism practices and NZ’s future challenges.