South Island-based tourism operator sponsors West Coast forum

A South Island-based tourism operator is helping raise awareness of the challenges and opportunities faced by commercial recreation providers on conservation land.

The Totally Tourism West Coast Tourism Forum is being held at Franz Josef on Saturday March 27 as part of the Westland Tai Poutini National Park 50th anniversary celebrations.

The forum will discuss and debate how to foster commercial recreation on conservation land and tackle any challenges, with a view to achieving great conservation outcomes over the next 50 years.

Totally Tourism managing director Mark Quickfall, who operates tourism businesses throughout the South Island, many of which operate in National Parks and on conservation land, said the forum was a “great opportunity” to discuss how tourism enables visitors to engage with conservation.

The forum will be facilitated by Tourism Industry Association Advocacy Manager Geoff Ensor and feature a two-hour discussion among panelists including Conservation Minister Kate Wilkinson, Director General of Conservation Al Morrison, TIA Chief Executive Tim Cossar, Mr Quickfall and Tourism West Coast General Manager Matt Ewen.

“In Franz Josef and Fox we are in a very privileged position to operate in the Westland National Park with our scenic helicopter operations,” said Mr Quickfall.

“From Mount Cook, Queenstown, Te Anau and Wanaka we operate in other national parks and on conservation land, offering scenic flights, heli-skiing, glacier helihikes, and trips into Milford Sound to link with our cruise company Mitre Peak Cruises.

“The focus of each and every one of these trips is to introduce our stunning natural wonders to visitors from all around the globe, and to work alongside DoC to help preserve this visitor experience and the environment.”

Mr Quickfall said the strong panel line-up showed how keen the Minister and Director General of Conservation were to work with operators, the importance of safety and quality, and was a strong indicator of how attitudes towards commercially-driven recreation had changed over the years.

“Not only does tourism directly or indirectly employ nearly one in ten New Zealanders, but the income generated by visitors through concession charges means DoC is in a stronger position than ever before to fund projects designed to help preserve and enhance our beautiful backyard for generations to come,” he said.

“Of course there will always be contentious issues along the way, and I’m sure some of these will be raised at the forum, but at the end of the day we should all be pushing for conservation to be the ultimate winner.”

More details about the forum are on the Events section of the TIA website www.tianz.org.nz