Management of the environmental effects associated with the tourism sector

Tourism is a striking example of a sector where integration between economic, environmental and social goals is required to fully contribute to New Zealand's wellbeing.

There is a wide range of environmental effects associated with the tourism sector, some of which have the potential to seriously damage both the environment and the industry. There are systematic problems that hinder the achievement of sustainable tourism, and the government system for managing tourism and its environmental effects is fragmented. The environmental qualities underpinning tourism are at risk in some areas and visitor pressure on some icon attractions cannot be sustained even in the medium term.

Three principal adverse environmental effects associated with tourism were identified:

• loss of quality of some relatively unspoilt parts of New Zealand's natural environment
• loss of amenity values from incremental development, which can also affect communities and lifestyles, especially in places where the proportion of visitors to residents is high
• pressure on infrastructure resulting in significant costs to local communities.