Tourism strategy consultation
The New Zealand-Aotearoa Government Tourism Strategy proposed a more deliberate and active role for government in tourism, to make sure that growth is productive, sustainable and inclusive.
Our team made two submissions, both expressing concern about the loss of tourism’s social licence in Queenstown. Excessive growth, particularly in arrivals through Queenstown Airport, was driving local discontent. Tourism Industry Aotearoa’s Mood of the Nation survey found 76% of Queenstowners thought there was too much pressure from tourism. An overwhelming 92.5% of 1507 submitters opposed the expansion of Queenstown Airport noise boundaries, with just 3.7% in support.
We, therefore, challenged the planned expansion of Queenstown Airport to serve as a regional hub. This concentrates tourism’s negative impact and undermines the industry’s dispersal strategy.
And we expressed concern that large capital expenditure at Queenstown Airport would undermine substantially the business case for a new Central Otago airport in the future.