Sustainable travel in New Zealand

Why sustainability?

Thinking about sustainability is necessary if you don’t want to contribute to the harmful side effects of travelling, or if possible, help mitigate and reduce the negative impacts of your travel.

From New Zealand's perspective, the possibility of overtourism and irreparable damage is a real threat that needs to be understood by its visitors. Despite strong efforts New Zealand's wildlife is still in crisis, with more than 4000 native animals and plants threatened or at risk!

The New Zealand government is taking measures and plans to lead the world in sustainable tourism:

• More than 1000 tourism businesses have already signed up to the New Zealand Tourism Sustainability Commitment.
• New Zealand has banned single-use plastic bags and is aiming by law for net zero carbon emissions by 2050 to ameliorate climate change (by 2030 the level will have to be 30% lower than in 2005).
• Renewable energy sources like hydro, wind and geothermal power plants already account for about 84 per cent of New Zealand’s electricity generation.
• New Zealand will plant an additional 1 billion trees by the year 2028.

Reduce rubbish and plastics

• Don't leave trash behind
• We all have a duty to be caretakers of nature, so don’t wait to join a local clean-up, simply keep a small bag handy and pick up litter where you see it in nature (especially beside rivers and on beaches) - it’s not about aesthetics, plastic decomposes into thousands of tiny microparticles that may get ingested by animals and things like old bottle rings and fishing lines may turn into traps for sea creatures and birds
• New Zealand tap water is safe and free to drink
• Take reusable utensils like refillable water bottles and coffee cups (also straws, cutlery, serviettes, etc.) - some cafes even offer discounts if you bring your own cup
• Don’t use the plastic packed toiletries in hotels but pack your own
• Say no to plastic bags and straws
• Pre-recycle your trash in the hotel (leave glass and PET plastics, cans, paper and cardboard separate and not hidden inside the rubbish)
• Don’t flick your cigarette butts on the ground, because even in cities the rainwater will eventually wash their toxins into the ocean (allegedly one cigarette butt per litre of water is toxic enough to kill fish)

Keep the environment intact

• Stay on the walking tracks
• Don’t feed the wildlife or interact too closely
• Be a responsible freedom camper and use designated campsites and toilets
• Use biodegradable shampoo in outdoor showers - it will end up in ground water or the ocean
• Don’t make open fires
• Conserve electricity (don’t overuse the aircon, hot water or heating)
• Save water (also in New Zealand there can be droughts in specific regions or when the shower is fed with rain water)
• Don’t venture off roads with your vehicle, damaging small animals, new plant growth or shellfish on the beaches
• Use an animal-friendly sun lotion when swimming
• Join a conservation volunteer project during your travels: conservationvolunteers.co.nz. Anyone who helps to set possum traps is already making a good contribution, because they eat up to 50% of the leaves of a tree, which are necessary for carbon absorption.
• New Zealanders traditionally love to fish, collect shellfish, eat whitebait or hunt crayfish, but many tourists now also do the same while all these animal populations are already under pressure - loving nature doesn’t mean you have to eat it…
• Why not leave some extra money in a DOC donation box (Department of Conservation) after a great walk, or donate to local conservation projects after an amazing experience in New Zealand?

Your impact on the community

• Respect the locals so they’ll be happy to welcome future travellers like you
• Respect local customs and Maori culture - Maori are ideally placed to tell you the story of New Zealand, its locations, history, culture and wildlife, so make sure you can hear their perspective!
• Ask for permission before taking pictures of people
• Don’t publish GPS geotags with your social media photos of hidden places that are at risk of becoming trampled by tourists
• Drive carefully and safely, don’t risk other people’s lives
• Follow the local laws
• Be prepared for emergency situations

Economical benefits from tourism

• Support local heritage and culture and help to avoid the country turning into a global shopping mall
• Buy locally made rather than Chinese made souvenirs and buy from small businesses or local artists rather than from big corporations
• Drink New Zealand made beer and wine instead of the imported international brands - and do you really need an American fast food burger and coffee today or wouldn’t you rather support a local takeaway and cafe?
• Avoid foreign owned corporate ownership, because profits are likely to benefit overseas shareholders rather than the locals (for example, stay in NZ owned accommodation instead of international hotel chains and use locally owned rental companies)
• Also New Zealand has a ‘first nation’, Maori are an indigenous population lagging behind economically like in many other countries, and you can support their tourism offerings as one of their paths into prosperity
• In New Zealand you can gear up with the best possible fibre for travel, merino wool - it’s expensive but will last longer on the body than plastic fleece, it doesn’t generate odours because it is so fine (so you need to wash it less often) and in the end you can simply throw it on the compost!
• Travel off peak season for a better nature experience and distribution of visitors throughout the year

Keep carbon emissions low

• Offset the carbon emissions of your flight or whole trip, ekos for example is a local New Zealand choice whose carbon credits come from projects that grow and protect indigenous forests. Toitu Envirocare is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Government-owned Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research, a Crown Research Institute. See their travel calculator. Air New Zealand's carbon offset programme (FlyNeutral) has a built-in package for its passengers. Perhaps even more efficient would be a donation to New Zealand's most important nature conservation organisation, Forest & Bird, whose projects are mainly implemented by volunteers (www.forestandbird.org.nz, see under 'Appeals' to support specific projects).
• Fly with a modern aircraft rather than simply choosing the cheapest flight
• Make the flight miles worth it by staying longer in fewer destinations rather than many short trips
• Instead of moving to a different place each night of your trip and seeing the whole country in a blur, stay in fewer places and explore deeper and for longer
• First class has a bigger carbon footprint than economy
• Use a bus (see backpacker buses) or train or car pool rather than travel with one person per vehicle

Make the pledge

The Tiaki Care for New Zealand initiative encourages international and domestic travellers to actively act as guardians of Aotearoa, are you ready to commit to travelling sustainably?