Tourism needs tales, not undermining

The silence in New Zealand’s tourism sector is deafening. There is no reaction to open-cast mining in areas of National Significance, to the further commercialisation of the conservation estate, or to over tourism; a latent threat as it loomed large before Covid struck. All threaten tourism productivity which, as it turns out, is little understood as the tourism sector fails to reveal any politically relevant stance or strategy. Unique landscapes, protected environments, and welcoming locals are the very material source of tourism’s productivity that need understanding and educated management. Consecutive political leaders have provided little of these. Ongoing attempts to exploit the Denniston Plateau and other sites of National Significance through open-cast mining are not just creating a few minor beauty-spots as another minister would have it. Indeed, activities such as mining or contesting the boundaries of the Conservation Estate means giving away the substance and source of tour