NZ’s clean, green tourism image becoming contentious
NZ’s clean, green tourism image becoming
contentious, says UC tourism
expert
February 3,
2013
Whether New Zealand has a clean,
green image is increasingly becoming a contentious issue, a
University of Canterbury (UC) international tourism expert
said today.
UC marketing and tourism professor
Michael Hall said the image is being questioned at home and
abroad.
``It has got to the point that I think the
image is starting to erode, not because of one single
environmental issue as yet, but because it's being
incrementally eroded.
``Our 100% Pure tag has been
very successful but people have either forgotten or don't
realise that the tag was originally meant to be connected to
the experience rather than the physical environment per
se.
``But perhaps because of how people want to see
themselves and New Zealand it has been tied in very much to
being clean and green. The problem with 100% Pure is that
while it helps our biological economy as in agriculture and
wine, as well as tourism, it really doesn't help present New
Zealand as being particularly innovative or high
tech.''
Late last year Prime Minister John Key
defended New Zealand's 100% Pure brand after international
media reported that it misrepresented the country's
environmental record.
Several years ago New Zealand
Trade and Enterprise researched international perceptions of
New Zealand and, with the exception of Australia, the
results suggested that New Zealand had a nice environment
and was a nice place to visit but that its business acumen
and innovation levels were low.
Producing and
promoting yet more movies that focus on the New Zealand
landscape doesn't really help change those perceptions
quickly, Professor Hall said.
New Zealand had a
conservation estate that was increasingly being pushed to
return a dividend.
He said the record on climate change
was abysmal and an international embarrassment, especially
in Europe.
``There are clearly also ongoing issues
with water quality and use, and the expansion of dairying.
Although perhaps the Government believes that by focussing
on Asian markets our environmental record isn't quite such a
concern.
``We are slipping in relative terms as a
developed country but, in a global sense, we are still in
the top half of the league. We certainly need to improve our
recycling efforts but the present government is clearly
loathed to bring in measures such as deposits on bottles and
end of life product returns.
``There is more
investment going into roads than public transport which in
the long run, will also have significant pollution effects.
On the pollution side we have a lack of leadership on
climate change and encouragement of further intensification
of farming with a flow-on effect on water
quality.
``Perhaps what is also forgotten is that
attractive, high quality environments are also a part of our
overall competitiveness. In the long run, if we want to
attract mobile educated people and their skills - as we do -
then our environment is just as important as the salary
base, culture, housing costs and
accessibility.
``If we just want to be the tourist
destination, rugby field and farm of the South Pacific it is
excellent. If we want to be more than that, we need to
leverage it in other directions. I'm not sure that there's a
willingness to do that because the success of 100% Pure has
become something of a sacred cow.
``Yet we need to
realise that not only does it not support some aspects of
what we want to say to the world, but that other countries
are also starting to position themselves in a very familiar
fashion,'' Professor Hall
said.
ENDS