PLANNING, DEVELOPING AND MARKETING OF NATURE AND ADVENTURE TOURISM, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO COMMERCIAL ADVENTURE CAVING
During the last 20 years, New Zealand tourism has grown rapidly with nearly one million international visitors and 10.8 million domestic visitors a year (NB: each New Zealander spends 3 nights away from home/year) tourism is now a major part of our economy.
A close look at our industry shows it is firmly based on the features and attractions of the natural environment. It is our magnificent wild places, our seascapes, mountain views and rural landscapes that create New Zealand's unique tourism appeal. With such a close relationship between tourism and our natural resources, it is of special importance to the industry that these resources should be carefully managed.
There are many examples or successful well managed nature and adventure tourism operations in New Zealand - proof that tourism in an ever sensitive natural environment can be both environmentally and economically sound. Regional examples include: the Punakaiki Blowholes walk, glacier guiding in South Westland and the newly initiated white heron colony tours to Okarito. Further afield, nature tourism trips to the isolated Chatham Islands and Auckland Islands and, of course, to the Waitomo Caves are further examples of established ventures. There are also some exciting new ventures such as the sea-going nature tours based at Kaikoura. These tours provide the only opportunity to view whales in New Zealand. The 'whale watch' venture is a classic case of tourism based on a sensitive resource. Poorly managed, the resource would quickly disappear.
In recent years some adventure and nature tourism projects have struggled. The white water rafting industry in the boom years of the mid-1980s saw over 150 guides employed, handling in excess of half a million clients. It has now retrenched with no more than 50 full time guides.
Given careful planning, including a thorough assessment of the market needs, there is no reason why new adventure tourism activities cannot be successful in today's tourism scene. Recently there has been considerable promotion of the benefits of nature tourism by conservationists and politicians. Protected lands are being justified on economic grounds. This new enthusiasm has yet to be matched by an increase in nature tourism operations.
There are many fascinating and exciting nature and adventure tourism ideas around at present. Before they can be implemented, there is a considerable amount of work required to sift out the sound proposals, and to carefully assess them on economic and environmental grounds. The projects then require careful planning and management. Objective assessments and careful planning do not guarantee success but can prevent failure. The "seat of the pants" approach that was previously acceptable is no longer appropriate.
Because the majority of nature and adventure tourism activities in New Zealand are on the Department of Conservation's estate, the Department's policies and management plans have major influence. These plans are usually developed by local DOC managers, with reference to national policy and with input from the public. Tourist operators should take an interest in these plans when they are being prepared or reviewed.
A concern to some sectors of the tourism industry is the timeframe within which plans and policies are reviewed. With society and the tourism industry changing so rapidly, a 5 or 10 year planning cycle can see plans quickly outdated. New tourism activities develop within the life of a plan. Parapenting, black water rafting, mountain biking and some multisports events are recent examples. Such new developments require flexible thinking by resource managers and an appreciation by tourist operators that instant decisions may not always be possible. Early contact between the tourist operators with a new idea and the resource managers is always desirable.
Although there are usually adequate planning procedures at a local level, there is often a need to assess nature and adventure tourism proposals from a regional, or even national perspective. How can one allow for a range of visitor use options in our caves and karst environments? There is a need to have a balance of recreational opportunities for different activities spread throughout each region. The lack of a coordinating strategy for recreational aircraft use in the Southern Alps is an example of this problem.
Time constraints and broad coordination aside, management plans usually provide clear outline principles that are applied to an area and will indicate to a tourist operator what activities are likely to be approved.
If an idea is likely to be allowed by the management plan, a feasibility study should be instigated. In some cases the idea may be so general (such as to set up an adventure caving operation in Westland) that a 'scoping exercise' or 'options' study is undertaken. Once a specific proposal is developed, the feasibility study objectively analyses the proposal. The study will require clear terms of reference. It is often desirable for land managers to be involved with the terms of reference. The final uses for the feasibility study report should he considered. Often reports are subsequently used for raising finance. The study should include analysis of: the possible market, environmental impacts, other constraints, concession arrangements, financial and operational planning issues.
Advice in the development of tourism ventures can be received from the New Zealand Tourist and Publicity Department's regional liaison officer, or private consultants.
The RLOs usually have an excellent understanding of regional tourism issues and resources. Regional Development Councils can provide practical advice, plus the possibility of a financial subsidy for the feasibility study (Regional Development Investigation scheme).
For every adventure and nature tourism venture that is finally developed, up to 10 other projects may fall by the wayside.
The Department of Conservation's draft concession policy allows for two main methods of tourist operations on DOC land. One method which is the most common involves an operator initiating an idea and applying for a concession. If the appropriate management plans and policies permit the proposal, public comment is sought before granting the concession. This can be a lengthy procedure and concessionaires need to be well prepared for the proposal to succeed.
The alternative method is for the Department of Conservation to be pro-active and seek interest from possible operators. A recent local example is the development of the white heron colony tourist operation at Okarito.
By offering a specific proposal the resource managers can influence development patterns. Using this concept, for example, it may be possible to effectively influence the development of commercial caving in the Paparoa National Park.
With the increasing emphasis on revenue generation from resource rentals by the Department of Conservation, it is important that all concerned should work to ensure that the long term environmental integrity of the resource is maintained. Both DOC and commercial operators have an interest in economic viability as well as the environmental effects.
Within the feasibility study a marketing strategy should be addressed. This is just as crucial as the eventual preparation of a marketing plan. Within adventure tourism business in New Zealand, few of the operators have a marketing background. They usually have a strong background in the specific activity that they are promoting. Project developers should ensure that the marketing strategy is well conceived. The marketing strategy clearly identifies the product, and the likely future for these market segments.
Often there is concern by the resource manager about how tourist activities are promoted. By being party to a marketing strategy at the development stages, the resource manager can influence the direction of marketing from the outset.
The detail about how an operation is to be promoted is contained in a marketing plan. These plans usually address: product packaging, programming, price, positioning, place, people and the range of promotional materials.
The marketing plan should consider the regional, natural and local marketing context. Can the plan complement the "West Coast South Island" regional strategy, or capitalise on the New Zealand domestic marketing campaign - "NZ the Great"? There are several excellent examples of nature and adventure tourism operators joining forces, either regionally (the Mt Cook region) or thematically. 'Walk New Zealand' is a good example of a national thematic marketing campaign that has been successful. Professional bodies such as the New Zealand Mountain Guides Association also can coordinate marketing activities.
The concerns that resource managers, conservationists, recreationists and tourism operators have about appropriate development of our environmentally sensitive areas can be overcome with good planning procedures.