Tourist camping ‘reset’ needed in wake of virus

CONGRATULATIONS are due to Queenstown Lakes District deputy mayor Calum Macleod who is calling for a ‘‘reset’’ of the tourism industry, (ODT, 11.4.20).

Here is a place to start. Freedom camping in New Zealand means freedom from cost and often, sadly, freedom from social responsibility.

This has to change. The millions invested in education and signage, the persuasion approach, is not working.

In 200304 the prospect of large numbers of visitors taking the opportunity to visit NZ on the cheap during the 2005 Lions Tour sent shivers up the spine of officialdom. With traditional accommodation bookings filling fast it was feared the ‘‘Barmy Army’’ would take to the highways, byways, and in particular many informal sites as well, and freedom camping was born.

Conceptually it is a great idea and is well respected by many. Regrettably the disrespect shown by others gives it a bad name and it degrades our beautiful countryside. The benefits go to van companies, and motorists, while traditional facilities — camping grounds — miss out on the bonanza.

Our unique natural environment, our primary attraction, is under threat on a host of fronts; introduced pests, climate change, plant disease, people pressure, to name a few.

If a solution is in our hands we must act. As we emerge from our present crisis, with tourism returning to the new normal, let it be into a community where overnight motorised camping is at a location where our precious natural world cannot be compromised.

Evan Alty Lake Hawea