Tourism Summit Aotearoa 2018: Key talking points
Te Papa, Wellington: the venue for the Tourism Summit Aotearoa 2018.
Earlier this month (Nov 8), the Tourism Summit Aotearoa 2018 was held in Wellington.
Hundreds of tourism delegates met at Te Papa to discuss the future of tourism and exchange ideas, opportunities, and challenges.
Here are some of the key announcements and talking points from the day.
Tourism 2025 & Beyond
The day was very future-focused, with Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) unveiling a draft of Tourism 2025 & Beyond: an updated framework for the industry that builds on Tourism 2025 and Tourism 2025 – Two Years On.
Tourism 2025 & Beyond is about “growing a sustainable tourism industry that benefits New Zealanders.”
The final version of the framework is expected to be released in the first quarter of 2019, after Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) has engaged in industry feedback.
Sustainable growth
TIA chief executive Chris Roberts made it clear at the Summit that the industry is focused on sustainable growth.
“Our industry has a growing focus on sustainability in its broadest sense, including economic, environmental, host community and visitor sustainability,” Mr Roberts explained in a press release.
More than 600 tourism businesses have shown their support for sustainability by signing up to the New Zealand Tourism Sustainability Commitment.
Challenges and opportunities
Mr Roberts acknowledged that the fast-pace of tourism growth is “presenting both challenges and opportunities for New Zealand communities”.
Visitor numbers are predicted to reach 5.1 million by 2024, which could put pressure on local infrastructure, communities, and the environment.
The Tourism 2025 & Beyond framework is one way of addressing these challenges and opportunities.
Tourism 2025 Scorecard
The annual Tourism 2025 Scorecard was also released at the Summit, showing New Zealand’s progress towards Tourism 2025 goals.
The scorecard makes it clear there has been very strong growth and progress since 2014, especially in areas such as the value of visitors and international and domestic air connectivity.
Where to now?
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