Consultation opens on draft Tourism Environment Action Plan

The draft action plan aims to ensure tourism has a positive impact on the natural environment and proposes 6 focus areas to achieve this. These areas or Tirohanga Hou (new pathways) are:

• Tourism journeys are decarbonised
• Tourism champions biodiversity
• Visitor management is optimised for te taiao (nature)
• Accelerated technology uptake and innovation enable regeneration
• Tourism businesses are incentivised and enabled for sustainability and regeneration
• The tourism system and its levers are optimised and resourced to support regeneration

Each area has multiple actions that will deliver positives not only for the environment but for communities and tourism operations.

Some actions see the tourism industry working with communities to create a picture of what healthy visitation looks like. Others focus on supporting and incentivising tourism operators to adopt sustainable or regenerative practices. Rapid investment in low-carbon technologies for long-haul travel is another key action.

The draft action plan has been developed by a Tourism Environmental Leadership Group, representing government, industry, Māori, unions and environmental organisations.

The Tourism ITP aims to shift tourism in Aotearoa New Zealand to a regenerative model that gives back more than it takes from people, communities and the environment. The Better Work Action Plan, which was the result of the first phase of the ITP, focuses on the tourism workforce and was released in March 2023.

Find out more about the draft Tourism Environment Action Plan and have your say at:

Draft Tourism Environment Action Plan

You can also sign up for a workshop – online or in person.

Feedback closes on 19 July 2023.