Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Given New Zealand’s effort to wreck manufacturing and farming with cow taxes and renewable energy rationing, why should the tourism industry be left unscathed?
Enough talk – time for action on tourism’s environmental impact, says commissioner
Mike White
05:00, Feb 19 2021Parliament’s environmental watchdog says the tourism industry has been carried and cosseted for too long, while its impact on the environment has been largely ignored. In a new report released yesterday, Simon Upton says it’s time for real action, not more marketing spin and hollow talk about “sustainability”. Mike White investigates how tourism has become a problem area, despite being a crucial part of New Zealand’s economy.
Poor Simon Upton.
Just three months after the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment released his first report into the looming calamity of tourism’s unbridled growth, New Zealand shut its borders, due to Covid-19.
…
And in the wake of Covid, it might have been easy for Upton to say, okay, problems solved, crisis averted, and abandon the second part of his investigation.
But Covid will eventually end, planes will start flying, international tourists will begin arriving again, and New Zealand will remain an extremely attractive destination.
And when international tourism does resume, Upton says we can’t slide back to business as usual, with all the pressures and pinch-points we saw before Covid – tourism has to be done differently, and be much less environmentally harmful. There will have to be trade-offs between growth and nature.
…
Upton’s report makes four recommendations: a departure tax reflecting the cost of international flights’ CO2 emissions; greater involvement of communities in tourism projects; more power for the Department of Conservation to preserve natural attractions; and much tougher regulations for freedom campers.
…
Read more: https://www.stuff.co.nz/environment/124272550/enough-talk–time-for-action-on-tourisms-environmental-impact-says-commissioner
Given New Zealands hard border lockdown policy, their tourist industry is a little academic right now. But just in case any New Zealand tourism entrepreneur survives the Covid pandemic, the Ardern government is readying to greet your business relaunch with a raft of new taxes, government oversight bodies and restrictions.
Correction (EW): Not all tourism activities are being discouraged. New Zealand’s Ardern government has paved the way for an expansion of sex tourism, giving honours and recognition to sex workers – so I guess at least one eco-friendly tourism activity, selling pretty New Zealand girls and boys to visitors, will be encouraged under the new laws.
Discover more from Watts Up With That?
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Eric
Whats with the – “selling pretty New Zealand girls and boys to visitors, will be encouraged”.
Did you bother to read the article, or are you just identifying your own titillation preference.
Catherine Healy has worked tirelessly to ensure and recognize the rights of legally aged sex workers, in a legalized industry, by getting them off the street and given the respect and protection they deserve as individuals. Plus by putting in place an organized membership, it helps reduce and hopefully eliminate underage workers.
The words Grow Up seem appropriate.
If New Zealand passes these laws, it will increase the profitability and decrease the legal risks of conducting a sex tourism business, relative to a tourism business focussing on outdoor activities.
I’m not saying Ardern did this deliberately, I’m open to the idea her government is composed of idiots, but my prediction is simple economics.
How would you suggest that the “respect and protection” deserved by individuals be determined objectively?
This is what happens when people who have no experience running anything and have never been responsible for people such as their jobs and livelihoods, and who have never built anything, become Prime Minister. They have no idea of the adverse consequences of their decisions.
Yep.
At least they are walking the walk I guess
Here in Canada we have innumerable tourist destinations that rely heavily on international tourists (Victoria, Whistler, Banff, etc) passing “climate emergency”declarations, generally on the same websites where they brag about how many tourists visited in previous years and how many they hope to attract in the future.
Every single one arriving courtesy of hydrocarbon transport
The endless stupidity begins to make me sad
Shame, it was on my bucket list now that I’ve toured Iceland.
Hard pass now.
It’s almost as if in all the Democracies the same people have got themselves in power with the collusion of the media to bring about their daft agenda to impoverish the populace and make everybody’s life miserable except their own and to lock up anybody who points out the insanity.
Yeah. They call it the “great reset”. The rulers go back to living in castles and the plebs will live in high rise smart prisons. You will own nothing, and you will be happy (or else).
“Not all tourism activities are being discouraged. New Zealand’s Ardern government has paved the way for an expansion of sex tourism, giving honours and recognition to sex workers – so I guess at least one eco-friendly tourism activity, selling pretty New Zealand girls and boys to visitors, will be encouraged under the new laws.”
Won’t you please think of the Aromantics and their inclusiveness here Jacinda?
What passes for ‘inclusion’ is nothing more than ‘vacuous attention-seeking’ (msn.com)
New Zealand to Kill Tourism?
way to kill whats left of their biz
wonder if the count their fumaroles- and events like white island killing tourists as a plus or minus emissions wise?
Comments went with the speed of light from tourism to driving on the wrong side of the road. Having lived in the UK I know how challenging that can be at first and know one guy that was hit by a bus while stepping out looking the wrong way.
More difficult than awareness of which side of the road you are on is knowing for sure details of the looming crisis that impacts all tourists except those looking for unnatural sex.
NZ is known for the large number of sheep!
If New Zealand things that the us of fossil fuels is bad. at the very least they should ban all forms of transportation in and our of the country that makes use of fossil fuels. Doing that will eliminate all tourism in New Zealand as well as all trade with foreign nations making life very difficult for all New Zealanders.. Even is one believes what is being said by some about the climate dangers of CO2, New Zealand’s efforts cannot possible have any effect on global climate so why bother. Mankind does not even know what the optimum global climate actually is let alone how to achieve it.
Shouldn’t they outright ban all fossil fueled ships and plans coming to their nation? If they really care
New Zealand’s world contribution towards CO2 emissions as of 2017 was 0.1%.
This country if it could cut emissions tomorrow to zero, would make no measurable difference to global temperatures ever.
Their sacrifice is just to please the activists.
This has not been about climate for many years but used as an excuse for controlling the population.
I’ll just watch the video instead.