The future of tourism? Policy and pressures, people and place.

The Government's recently released Tourism Policy Statement sets out ambitious goals including doubling tourism export value by 2034, improving productivity, sustainable tourism and community support.

But what does it mean for Queenstown, for the wider New Zealand tourism industry, and for the people and places caught in between? How does it square with Queenstown Lakes’ own, much-consulted-on Regenerative Tourism Plan? These are some of the questions Catalyst’s September 3 Future of Tourism panel will address.

The TPS received little media coverage but crucially, for the first time, set goals that every government agency – including MBIE, Tourism New Zealand and DOC – must now guide their investments and actions by. It also specifies the roles and responsibilities of local bodies, national government, and industry.

“But nobody is steering the tourism ship,” says internationally recognised destination management leader Kiri Goulter. “What we need is national and regional governance that coordinates activity - across the whole system and from a public good perspective.”

Kiri will be joined by longtime Destination Queenstown and Lake Wānaka Tourism CEO Mat Woods, with tourism communications specialist Sarah Bennett as MC, to discuss how closing this governance gap could help tourism deliver value for all New Zealanders – and ease the specific pressures on people and place felt right here, in Queenstown’s tourism bubble.

"We actually have to do something immediately,” says Mat, because between residential and tourism growth, "we just can't handle anymore…And no one comes on holiday to go to gridlock.”

Thursday, September 3, 6.30-8 pm, The Rees Hotel Queenstown. Register to ensure your seat. Please donate online or bring cash for your koha, which will be given to community support centre Happiness House.

Kiri Goulter is an internationally recognised leader in destination management who has helped shift New Zealand’s tourism conversation from attracting more visitors to creating better outcomes for people and place. She brings national policy expertise, local delivery experience and a willingness to challenge how the tourism system works.

Mat Woods is the long-time chief executive of Destination Queenstown and Lake Wānaka Tourism, and one of the driving forces behind the district’s Regenerative Tourism Plan.

Sarah Bennett is a tourism communications specialist, travel writer and sustainable tourism advocate. Her book 100% Pure Future: New Zealand Tourism Renewed (BWB Texts) is a ‘rallying call for a genuine tourism reset that puts the environment first and creates more meaningful exchanges between visitors and their hosts.