DoC’s plans for extra $76m

The Department of Conservation will use its first big funding boost for years to develop new trails, build better infrastructure on sometimes crowded tracks and develop a system for charging international tourists more to use them.

As part of a package to cope with growing pressure on tourist infrastructure, the Government said DoC would get a $76 million funding boost for the next four years in the Budget.

While an environmental group has described it as “chicken feed” and not doing anything for threatened species, DoC’s director-general, Lou Sanson, said a better-quality tourism experience would provide more scope to “clip the ticket” to pay for eradicating pests.

“Ultimately we see tourism paying for a predator-free New Zealand.”

Conservation Minister Maggie Barry said the country had to be careful rapid tourism growth didn’t negatively affect anybody’s visit.

“We’ve all seen the stories of the Tongariro Crossing where there are queues of people — we are very aware of the impact of these high visitor numbers,” she said at Trenz, the tourism industry’s big international sales event in Auckland.

Last week the ran a series highlighting the pressure on national parks and on tourism infrastructure from the more than 3.5m visitors to this country.

Barry said the new investment would improve the quality of experience at sites most loved by Kiwis and international visitors, while also shifting awareness to the paths less travelled.

The department was considering two new multiday Great Walks to take pressure off existing ones and shorter walks that were attractive to many tourists unwilling to spend days on trails.

It was possible the new Great Short Walks or Great Day Walks could be in the Tarawera and Taranaki regions.

“We know there are plenty of new locations that could easily support more visitors, relieve pressure on hotspots and develop a bigger share of the regional economic benefits of tourism,” Barry says.

“Along with the Paparoa Great Walk on the West Coast, these new Great Walks would mark the first expansion of the network in around 25 years.”

Private operators could help cofund the new walks. The depart- ment could introduce higher prices for overseas visitors to use huts and campsites on Great Walks as early as next year but the premium they would pay had not been determined. “It’s a tricky one. We don’t want to kill the goose that lays the golden egg — we don’t want visitors to ever feel unwelcome.” The Budget funding is made up of $44.6m operating funding over four years and $31.3m capital and includes: $23m for improving visitor experiences on existing tracks. This could include new toilets and car parks. $11.4m for improvements to DoC’s online services to allow for charging overseas visitors more for huts, campsites and car parks. $12.7m towards the expansion

HFor a video on this story visit nzherald.co.nz of the Great Walks network.

$5.7m to develop Great Short Walks and Great Day Walks.

$19.8m for upgraded tourist facilities.

Forest & Bird said Barry had released her Threatened Species Strategy to increase the number of animals and plants DoC is managing but that announcement “came with no new money”.

“The very next day, there is more money for DoC, but for toilets, car parks, huts and tracks,” said advocacy manager Kevin Hackwell.

While DoC urgently needed help to cope with the pressures created by the “uncontrolled tourism boom”, it also needed to be properly funded to do its core work of protecting native wildlife and habitats.

The $19m a year “paled into insignificance” in comparison with the $53m the Government was spending on Expo 2020 in Dubai.