INTRODUCCION

The New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2010 is a guiding document for tourism management targeting key issues such as:

• yield management;

• management of physical, natural, social, environmental and economic factors for New Zealanders and visitors, present and future;

• providing infrastructure;

• managing the conservation estate;

• improving environmental efficiency;

• increasing Maori participation and

• ensuring quality.

In answer to these issues a number of measures are in place. For example, TIANZ promotes Green Globe 21 sustainable tourism certification programme to the industry; Maori participation in tourism is encouraged through closer partnerships between Maori and RTOs; quality is controlled by the adoption of the NZ fern as an official ‘Qualmark’ quality mark throughout the tourism industry, and yield management can be addressed through pricing strategies for low and high season and pricing premium for quality and authenticity (Ministry of

Tourism No date). The Department of Conservation also plays an important role in controlling tourism activity, as outlined in the Visitor Strategy (Department of Conservation 1996), through statutory regulation (for example the Conservation Act); managing visitor conflicts and through concessions¹. DoC also advocates appropriate visitor behaviour through information and education using signage, publications and advice from visitors’ centre staff and through interpretation using on-site panels, publications, visitors’ centre displays and staff.

(Department of Conservation 1996). In addition, throughout New Zealand the Environmental Care Code is widely distributed by DoC and other organisations (Figure 4.3).

Figure 4.3: New Zealand’s Environmental Care Code

Protect plants and animals Remove rubbish

Bury toilet waste

Keep streams and lakes clean Take care with fires

Camp carefully Keep to the track Consider others

Respect our cultural heritage Enjoy your visit

(Department of Conservation No date)

The focus of this thesis is on the tourist, and encouraging visits from the ‘right’

sort of tourist is seen as a further way means of management, as the right tourists will have fewer negative impacts as well as more positive ones.

Targeting the Interactive Traveller market is seen as one way of encouraging the right sort of tourists: “The ‘Interactive Traveller’ concept is about applying the

1A concession is an official authorisation to operate in an area managed by the Department. It may be in the form of a lease, licence, permit or easement. Concessions are required for accommodation facilities, water, air or land transport services; commercial education or instruction activities; guiding; attractions such as bungy jumping; and services such as shops, tearooms; restaurants; garages or hire services. The concession system helps DoC ensure that activities are compatible with the primary aim of protecting the land and other resources.

Chapter 4

values, such as sustainability, articulated in the New Zealand Tourism Strategy.

In this way Tourism New Zealand is helping future-proof the New Zealand tourism experience by actively seeking visitors who will enjoy and acknowledge our environment, values and culture” (Ministry of Tourism No date: 10). This issue of attracting the right sort of tourist is one which will be returned to in subsequent chapters.

This section has provided a background of tourism and tourists in New Zealand.

The following two sections look in detail at the case study sites of Kaikoura and Rotorua.

4.3 Kaikoura

4.3.1 Introduction

The township of Kaikoura is a small coastal community of approximately 2,760 (McNicol, Shone et al. 2002). It is situated on the east coast of the South Island on the main highway between Blenheim (100km to the north) and Christchurch (200km to the south).

Figure 4.4: The Seaward Kaikoura range

The landscape of Kaikoura is defined by mountains and sea and it is these natural assets which provide the foundation for the tourism industry. The

continental shelf is much nearer to the coast at Kaikoura than it is in most parts of New Zealand and, at the Kaikoura peninsula, two ocean currents converge (McAloon 1998). As a consequence of these geographical features the sea is rich in minerals, plankton and marine life such as whales, dolphins and fur seals, and the Whale Watch and Dolphin Encounter operations are the mainstay of Kaikoura’s tourism. These can be enjoyed against the dramatic backdrop of the Seaward Kaikoura Range which rises to 2,600 metres just 25km from the coast.

From the mid 1880s the region’s economy was dominated by sheep farming, and up until 1984 Kaikoura’s economic activity was predominantly as a farming, fishing and government service town. During the mid 1980s the restructuring process which was necessary to keep pace with international and technological changes across the world saw the railway privatised and the telephone exchange and Meteorological Service automated, and left many in the town unemployed (Horn, Simmons et al. 1998). The fortunes of the town in general fell into decline and Maori in particular were hard hit by unemployment.

The development of tourism is a relatively recent phenomenon and until the 1980s Kaikoura’s main tourism role was as a staging post for traffic to and from the Picton ferry link (McAloon 1998) with some domestic coastal tourism. Whale Watch Kaikoura Ltd, one of the major tourist operators in Kaikoura and owned and operated by Maori, helped to revitalise the tourism industry in the town and provide local job opportunities. From modest beginnings in 1987 with one ten-seater vessel, Whale Watch has grown today to a multi-million dollar operation with over 80,000 passengers per annum today (Department of Conservation 2005). Viewing or swimming with dolphins provide the other key focus of commercial activities, with visiting the peninsula’s seal colony also being popular (Simmons, Horn et al. 1998). In addition, there are small, owner-operated businesses providing seal swimming, diving, bird watching, kayaking and Maori cultural tours. There are also a range of supporting services such as shops, restaurants, cafés and accommodation, though the lower cost forms of accommodation are those most frequently used by visitors (Simmons, Horn et al. 1998).

Chapter 4