Tourism Industry To Engage With Ambitious New Environment Plan

The tourism industry is looking forward to engaging with the draft Tourism Environment Action Plan released for consultation today, Tourism Industry Aotearoa says.

The draft plan aims to start a conversation about how tourism can transform into a low carbon emissions industry and can support the restoration of our natural bio diversity, which is critical to achieving a regenerative tourism model – one that leaves a community and environment better than it was before.

The draft is part of the Tourism Industry Transformation Plan and has been developed by a Leadership Group that includes tourism industry representatives, government, Māori and unions.

Tourism Environment Leadership Group co-chair Laurissa Cooney says the group wants to hear from people with a broad range of views.

“We very much see this plan as a draft. We are proposing a radical shift in the approach to tourism and the environment in New Zealand, so a robust discussion now is essential before we make our final decisions.

“It’s important we hear from people with different perspectives and interests and from different parts of Aotearoa. How do they see tourism contributing to environmental restoration here and the ripple impact globally? Which of the proposed actions match their priorities and have we missed anything critical?”

The draft plan is supported by a valuable body of existing work, including TIA’s Tourism Sustainability Commitment and the recent launch of The Aotearoa Circle Tourism Adaptation Roadmap.

TIA Chief Executive Rebecca Ingram says, “It’s important the industry feeds into this draft plan, which will help us develop real, practical actions to protect and improve our environment at this critical time.”

The draft Tourism Environment Action Plan is available on MBIE’s website with submissions closing on 19 July.

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