With the summer season in full swing, the tourism industry’s annual gauge of sustainability has shown a significant rise in tourism businesses measuring their carbon footprint.
Nearly half (41 percent) of the respondents in the latest annual stock take of the Tourism Sustainability Commitment (TSC) said they were actively measuring carbon emissions in 2023, a substantial jump on the 29 percent who reported doing so in 2022.
Over 1900 tourism businesses have signed up to the TSC, which was established in 2017 by Tourism Industry Aotearoa. They are annually invited to make a declaration on their progress, which in 2023 drew 565 responses.
The report also showed that industry optimism had greatly improved, Tourism Industry Aotearoa’s Chief Executive Rebecca Ingram said.
“As international visitors return in greater numbers, it’s great to see most (84.5 percent) of the tourism business who responded are very or quite confident about their future. Tourism is still one of our biggest foreign exchange-earners. It’s a job creator, a regional growth generator and an important connector to the rest of the world. But it’s more than just straight economics and has the drive to lead in best practice,” said Ingram.
The TSC takes a wide view of sustainability, looking at economic and visitor sentiment, cultural and community engagement, and environmental aspects – reflecting the holistic direction of the tourism industry. Across all questions, the industry’s overall sustainability score was 8.1 out of 10, the same as in 2022.
“This highlights that even while the tourism industry was in the midst of its recovery, its commitment towards sustainability remained intact,” Ingram said.
Outlined in the report were the following key results:
- Community partnership – This was very important to the majority of respondents, with 96 percent reporting that they were engaging with their local community for mutual benefit.
- Environmental commitment: Most respondents (92 percent) were contributing to protecting and enhancing the natural environment. This included through guest education, staff involvement, or financially supporting projects.
- Carbon measurement: A significantly increased number of respondents (41 percent) are measuring their carbon emissions (up from 29 percent), and another 40 percent are investigating their options.
- Waste reduction: 87.9 percent always or usually work to minimise the waste their business produces.
- Predator control: More than two-thirds (68.7 percent) say they are supporting pest reduction on their own land or supporting other organisations to do so.
- Employer of Choice: In 2023, 53.9 percent of respondents were paying a living wage. Others said they were offering different benefits (e.g. flexible working or family-friendly policies, subsidised meals, accommodation and transport, or professional development).
- Sustainable Supply Chains: In 2023, 95 percent reported that they always, usually or sometimes looked for the most sustainable products available - the same as 2022.
- Education: 82 percent of respondents always or usually encourage visitors to be good travellers in New Zealand, such as by sharing the Tiaki Promise, up from 79 percent in 2022.
Areas where businesses were making good strides were restoring nature, visitor satisfaction, waste elimination, and investment and innovation. Pleasingly, 43 percent said they had a sustainability plan (up from 38 percent the previous year). But only 16 percent had a dedicated sustainability budget (similar to 2022’s 17 percent).
“We’ve always said that as our international guests return, we need to manage the industry in a way that aligns with our culture and our communities’ values and that respects our environment, and this result is confirmation of the industry’s positive efforts in this regard.”
