Environment Commissioner Simon Upton s new tourism report lays down the gauntlet nzherald.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from nzherald.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Environment Commissioner Simon Upton s bold new vision for sustainable tourism
19 Feb, 2021 05:00 PM
4 minutes to read
Air traffic in our wilderness areas has eroded natural quiet in tourist pressure points such as Milford Sound. Photo / Getty Images
Air traffic in our wilderness areas has eroded natural quiet in tourist pressure points such as Milford Sound. Photo / Getty Images
By: Joanna Wane
Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton talks to Joanna Wane about his vision for more sustainable tourism. Flygskam is the Swedish word for it: flight shame. Commercial aviation accounts for about 2.5 per cent of global carbon emissions; as the world gets serious about climate change, plane travel could become as socially unacceptable as smoking.
Stuff
Tourists stream across the busy Tongariro Crossing on Easter Sunday, when queues for toilets stretched to the dozens. (File photo)
Is the view from the top of Mount Tongariro just as special if you’re sharing it, elbow to elbow, with thousands of other people? When Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton released his second report into tourism’s environmental effects this week, the “wildness and quiet” of conservation land was a key issue. “A sense of wildness and natural quiet are defining characteristics of New Zealand’s conservation lands and waters,” his report reads. “For many people, encountering these qualities is the main motivation for visiting a natural area.”