News
Keeping it Real
01 April 2006
Despite a crackdown, illegal guiding is still a thorn in the side of the Department of Conservation.
Almost 40 illegal guides were found to be operating throughout New Zealand over the recent summer, prompting the Department of Conservation (DoC) to speak out about the practice and its impact both on the environment and on the tourism industry. Aoraki/Mt Cook is one area in particular where a lot of activity was uncovered, although the problem was not limited to this area.
Illegal guiding undermines measures put in place to protect conservation lands,
which are essentially management tools for one of our country’s most significant
visitor attractions. Our scenery is consistently rated as one of the main reasons
why people travel to, and recommend, New Zealand as a holiday destination.
DoC spokesperson Martin Rodd says, “In New Zealand we are very fortunate
to have such outstanding conservation lands for the public to enjoy and appreciate.
It is a significant challenge providing for this use while protecting the very
places people are going to see.”
Most operators are contributing to the sustainability of quality visitor experiences on conservation lands through the concessions system and illegal guides make no contribution at all to the conservation. “When this kind of thing happens everyone ends up losing, including our national parks,” says Martin Rodd.
DoC has no way of ensuring that illegal guiding operations can provide experiences under safe conditions, therefore posing a real threat to the sustainability of such tours. The content of such tours is also not able to be verified, providing an excellent breeding ground for misinformation, which is then passed on by the unwitting visitor.
“Illegal guiding undermines measures put in place to protect conservation lands, which are essentially management tools for one of our country’s most significant visitor attractions.”
There is also concern about the impact on other visitors’ experiences. “Certainly overcrowding and the potential damage to both people’s experiences and the environment that excessive numbers can cause are of huge concern,” says Lisa Sadler, Manager, Destination Fiordland.
“The impact on legitimate guiding operations also has to be taken into
consideration. I think anyone who goes through the process
of obtaining a consent to operate within the National Park is aware of the huge
investment (both monetary and in time) that this concession process requires.
To have other operators coming in and guiding illegally both undermines the
ability to get business from the customers who are being taken into the parks
illegally, and also impacts upon that company’s own guest experience.”
Gerry McSweeney, Managing Director of Wilderness Lodge, agrees. Wilderness Lodge holds two DoC Guiding Concessions for guiding from Wilderness Lodge Lake Moeraki and Wilderness Lodge Arthur’s Pass. “The Concession places a responsibility on the tourism operator to manage the environmental effects of their visitors, and to ensure that the place visited remains in its natural condition for the future.”
Source: www.tourismnewzealand.com