The tourism industry is ready and willing to join the Government in planning the future of tourism for New Zealand, Tourism Industry Aotearoa says.
TIA looks forward to actively participating in the project to reimagine the way tourism operates in a post-COVID-19 world, announced by Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis today.
“It is essential that the private sector is involved at the very centre of these discussions, from the beginning. The ‘new tourism’ is not something the Government can design and then impose on the industry. This has to be a genuine government-industry partnership, or it will fail,” TIA chief executive Chris Roberts says.
Private sector industry leaders have already started thinking about the industry’s future.
“We recognise that the spectacular growth in the visitor economy since 2013 brought challenges as well as benefits. In some regions, public infrastructure struggled to cope at peak times,” says Chris.
“We can do better in managing congestion, pressure on the environment and other issues. We now have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take a fresh look at our industry, to shape tourism for the benefit of Aotearoa and our people.”
Both the industry’s Tourism 2025 & Beyond Sustainable Growth Framework/Kaupapa Whakapakari TƒÅpoi and the Government’s own New Zealand-Aotearoa Government Tourism Strategy provide robust starting points for this work, as they both offer a vision for a strong, sustainable tourism industry.
“There is no doubt that the tourism industry New Zealand takes into the next decade will look considerably different to the old one,” he says.
“As well as working with central government, we are eager to work with local councils and our communities to identify their aspirations for their visitor economies and how they can achieve them. We will never have a better opportunity to plan, to ensure tourism delivers the best outcomes for both host communities and visitors.”
