Abel Tasman tourism operators pledge to support environment around village next to park

Sunday, 16 October 2022

Tourist activities operating in Abel Tasman National Park out of Mārahau village, just outside the park, will help fund new environmental projects in Mārahau catchment.

People who pay for tourist experiences in the Abel Tasman National Park will be able to see more clearly the local environmental projects they are helping support, under an initiative from a group of “zero carbon” local tourism operators.

Businesses that run operations including water taxis and walking and kayaking tours from the village of Mārahau, just outside the park, announced this week they would display the amount of money going into conservation efforts from ticket sales, on each ticket.

The so-called Environmental Access Fee (EAF) included a new levy the nine operators had introduced into the price of tickets, to help fund future projects to protect and restore biodiversity in and around Mārahau.

The levy – of $1.25 plus GST per foreshore crossing per person – added to comparable fees the businesses already made that helped preserve the national park through compulsory access payments to the Department of Conservation, and a smaller voluntary contribution to t he Birdsong Trust.

The coastal village of Mārahau just outside the Abel Tasman National Park is to get new environmental funding and support from tourism operations that start and end there.

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The move was part of an initiative called “The Mārahau Pledge”, developed by the businesses in partnership with the Nelson Regional Development Agency (NRDA).

Participating businesses were certified as zero carbon (they had reduced and locally offset their annual greenhouse gas emissions), and pledged to work together on developments that improved the sustainability of their operations.

Spokesperson for the initiative, Johny O’Donnell, said the region was famous for its beautiful environment, and people who “lived, worked and played” there had a “collective responsibility” to care for it.

Although many people's journeys into the national park started from Mārahau, the catchment was not part of the park where many restoration activities were focused, O’Donnell said.

The local community would help decide which projects the Mārahau levy would fund, which could range from waste management to plantings, he said.

NDRA Chief Executive Fiona Wilson said while people were keen to travel again post Covid, there had been a “fundamental shift in awareness” about the impacts of tourism on local communities.

After launching New Zealand’s first Zero Carbon Itinerary last year, The Mārahau Pledge was “another way to give visitors confidence that their experience isn’t going to have a net negative impact on the environment”, she said.

The three sets of levies in the EAF would not apply to students on school trips. The total would not be the same for every trip because of the different number of foreshore crossings on tours.

It amounted to $5 for a one way trip into the park from Mārahau by water taxi.

Commercial director of AbelTasman.com, Brendan Alborn, whose companies included water taxi services from Mārahau, said that included a Department of Conservation fee of $2.30 plus GST per crossing into the national park.

The Mārahau levy was the same amount as paid by tourism operations accessing Crown-owned Kaiteriteri Beach, slightly further away from the park, he said.

Tourism operators had a chance to re-invent things during Covid, and setting up a charitable trust for environmental and access projects in Mārahau would help the businesses engage with the community there more than before, he said.

“We’ve never been able to do something collective in terms of promoting the place or celebrating the place.

“We [operators] all feel like we love the place, we want to do better or do more.”

Owner of Mārahau-based company, Abel Tasman Kayaks, Jack Kelly, said the operators had long collaborated to give clients a good experience, and collaborating for The Mārahau Pledge helped give customers “good experiences with bigger purpose”.

“It’s really nice to be part of a group of operators that are prepared to actually come together to do this to make a difference.

“I think this is the way tourism really needs to go across the board.”

Kaitiaki of Wakatū Incorporation’s whenua at Mārahau, Renee Thomas, said it showed the visitor sector was taking responsibility for making a practical contribution to the long-term wellbeing of te taiao in Mārahau.

Businesses that have signed up to the pledge are Kahu Kayaks, Abel Tasman Kayaks, R&R Kayaks, Mārahau Sea Kayaks, Mārahau Water Taxis, AquaTaxi, Abel Tasman Canyoning, Abel Tasman Eco Tours, Abel Tasman Guides.