NZ tourism 'asleep at the wheel'

Thursday, 20 September 2018

Increasing tourism numbers in Central Otago have to lead to debate around air travel in the region. (Video first published in October 2018)

The idea of building a new international airport in the deep south has a 'pigs might fly' ring about it when so much of our tourism infrastructure spending is going into toilets and car parks.

Air New Zealand raised the prospect of a new Central Otago terminal in a submission supporting increased noise limits at Queenstown Airport, which it claims won't be to handle future growth even if tweaks to allow more flights get the okay.

However, some industry commentators say any suggestion of developing a hugely expensive 'greenfields' airport from scratch is premature when the country lacks a proper national tourism strategy on how to cope with mounting international visitor numbers.

The cost of a new airport would be eye-watering. Christchurch Airport's 2013 terminal revamp was a $237 million investment and there's been talk of a new Bay of Plenty airport with a billion dollar price tag.

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The King Shaka International Airport serving Durban in South Africa cost $1.3 billion when it opened eight years ago and it was designed to cater for 7.5 million passenger movements a year - the number forecast to pass through Queenstown by 2045.

Tourism professor Juergen Gnoth says a visitor strategy should look at new ways of getting visitors to popular locations like Milford Sound.

While Air New Zealand declined to elaborate on its Queenstown Airport submission, the three page document pushed for a long term approach to sustainably growing Otago tourism, and it warned growth in air services risked being capped if noise limits did not change.

Rather than focussing on Central Otago, University of Otago business school tourism professor Juergen Gnoth says that a national tourism strategy is well overdue, and he is dubious about the need for a new regional airport.

'I personally don't think it is yet viable because building an airport is one thing, having the infrastructure around it is another.

'What it shows is that we're having capacity problems and that we've been falling asleep at the wheel for the past 20 years.

Frankton residents spokesman Glyn Lewers says thousands of people face being 'imprisoned' in their homes if limits on aircraft noise are eased.

'We've lost the edge in terms of competitiveness and we're becoming more and more of a mass tourism destination without knowing it.'

Gnoth says more effort needs to go into dispersing visitors to get away from entrenched itineraries, such as day trips to Milford from Queenstown.

'We've not really developed a strategy of new travel corridors, it's a bit ad hoc particularly here in the south.'

Regional Tourism New Zealand chief executive Charlie Ives says the country needs to have a proper discussion about how to handle future visitor numbers.

Charlie Ives heads Regional Tourism New Zealand, the parent body for 30 organisations promoting the regions, largely funded by local authorities.

He too believes it's wrong to look at something like a new airport for Central Otago in isolation, and he says there is a desperate need for a long term strategy that allows councils and communities to plan, develop and manage tourism.

Money is naturally part of the picture and the current plethora of funding sources is a problem.

'There's all these schemes – the tourism infrastructure fund, the provincial growth fund, and the international visitor levy.

Christchurch Airport's revamped terminal opened in 2013 and cost $237m. The bill for a completely new airport would have to take into account runways, car parking and ancillary services.

'They're all touching tourism, and they're all doing different things … and as we know, funds come and go. There's no surety that in five years time there's going to be a particular fund, it could be pulled tomorrow.

'That's why we're saying regional visitor levies should be part of the consideration.'

The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment and Tourism New Zealand (TNZ) have a strategy based on attracting more 'high value' (read well heeled) visitors who come throughout the year, stay longer and and travel into the regions.

TNZ's New Zealand and government relations general manager Rebecca Ingram says the fact that spend in the regions has risen by $373m over the past year, and holiday spending outside peak season is well up, shows those strategies are working.

Ives says it doesn't resolve the current funding squeeze for local authorities faced with paying for tourism-related facilities, and that impacts on tourism's 'social licence' to operate.

'It becomes more difficult for us to have a harmonious relationship with our communities.

'We need to have a decent discussion about where we want tourism to end up in 20 years time, what it means to communities, and what they feel comfortable with.'

That strikes a chord with Frankton Community Association chairman Glyn Lewers who says the negative impact of tourism is becoming more noticeable.

About 3000 households around Queenstown Airport will be affected if noise boundaries change, and by summer 2025 on a busy day there could be 13 aircraft movements in peak hour.

Lewers says the proposed fix for the increased noise is to install double glazing and ventilation systems.

'Which is fine if you want to sit indoors, or if you want to be a prisoner in your own home.'

Coming on top of irritation over freedom camping, poor foreign driver behaviour and traffic jams, it's the last straw, he says.

'It's like getting hit from multiple sides and it's starting to have a cumulative effect.'