New Zealand's tourism industry will get practical tools to help cut energy costs and reduce businesses' carbon footprint.
Tourism Industry Aotearoa has partnered with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) to launch a new online training course helping tourism operators reduce energy consumption while improving their bottom line and guest experience.
Energy Efficiency for Tourism: Reducing Costs and Carbon While Enhancing the Guest Experience is now available on Akiaki, Advancing Tourism, with EECA funding the course development.
The course is one of 11 in the Akiaki programme that supports businesses to implement the Tourism Sustainability Commitment, covering everything from being an employer of choice, embracing Māori values, measuring carbon emissions and reducing waste. The Energy Efficiency course guides operators from understanding their energy use and identifying quick wins, through to planning long-term investments that build business resilience. The course features practical tools to reduce energy consumption across accommodation, hospitality, transport, and other activities.
Tourism Industry Aotearoa Chief Executive Rebecca Ingram said the course builds on substantial sustainability work already underway across the industry and responds directly to what members are asking for.
“Our latest Tourism Sustainability Commitment survey showed that 98 percent of operators say sustainability is important to their business, and nearly half want online information, tools and resources to help accelerate their actions even further. This course delivers exactly that,” said Ingram.
EECA Sector Partnerships Lead, Jo Parag, said the collaboration enables energy efficiency support tailored specifically for tourism.
"We know that there are real opportunities for tourism businesses across their operations to reduce consumption in ways that can enhance the guest experience. This course brings expertise together in a format that's accessible to tourism businesses of all sizes, helping them find solutions that save money while reducing environmental impact."
Building on the industry's existing commitment to energy efficiency, the course features real-world case studies from Hotel Britomart in Auckland and Ziptrek Ecotours in Queenstown, showing how improvements support business growth across different types of operations.
“Energy efficiency is a fundamental component to achieving the targets outlined in the industry's strategy Tourism 2050 - A Blueprint for Impact. This latest course provides another practical tool to help our members build on their sustainability actions while growing stronger, more resilient businesses,” added Ingram.
The course also demonstrates TIA's commitment under the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, which the organisation signed in May 2025. The Declaration commits TIA to lead by example, sharing knowledge and catalysing collaborative action across the sector.
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