Good time for a tourism plan

If only one positive thing comes out of having to deal with Covid-19, surely it’s taking advantage of the lull in tourists to come up with a plan to stop them pooping in public parks and reserves.

I follow the news. I’ve got friends in the industry. I know it’s a complex issue. But really, if we can lock a country down for weeks to protect the nation; become the world’s darling with how we’re handling the pandemic; and deal with issues as complex as assisted dying and legalising cannabis; surely we can deal with this matter once and for all.

The issue of freedom campers – particularly those who park up outside campgrounds and don’t have ‘‘on-board’’ toilet facilities – has been dogging New Zealand’s tourism industry for years and it needs sorting.

My first-hand experience of the downside of freedom camping came when we went to Akaroa two summers ago. One evening, as we walked round the headland to the lighthouse, we came across a line of campervans parked up near an area of woodland strewn with old toilet paper and emanating a distinctive aroma. Seconds later, we watched a young man walk out of the woods, toilet roll in hand and a sheepish look on his face.

I don’t want to stop backpackers – I have been one, I originally came to New Zealand as one, and I will be one again when the borders open. I also don’t want to stop people hiring campervans.

But I can only imagine how unpleasant it must be to live somewhere where people are toileting in the woods where Iwalk the dog or take the kids biking.

It seems that new Tourism Minister Stuart Nash thinks so too and, let’s face it, he’s got a lot more power to do something about it than I do. Gotta hand it to the guy, he’s not letting any moss gather under his feet with his new portfolio.

He roared into action last week saying he was going to put his foot down on the issue of freedom camping, backpackers and ‘‘low-value’’ tourists; expressing his wish to refocus tourism on highvalue visitors.

Good news on the freedom camping issue, I reckon.

The previous government had invested in helping councils manage freedom camping, including building more toilets and more signs to show tourists where to relieve themselves. But, as with Covid-19, maybe it’s time for the Government to take control away from individual councils and legislate and invest in better policing before the pooping tourists return.

That lull has certainly given the minister and the industry some space to think about issues even bigger than poop – like what the tourism industry should look like in the future.

Nash’s idea of targeting wealthy tourists isn’t exactly new. I worked for Tourism New Zealand

15 years ago, and the focus back then was on attracting high-value tourists. Specifically, focusing the marketing on getting tourists to ‘‘come now, do more, stay longer’’. That was all about getting them here in the first place, and then driving up yield.

It seemed to be working. Back then, tourism and dairy went toe-to-toe each year, vying for the position of biggest export-earner.

Unsurprisingly, there’s an industry taskforce re-looking at what tourism should be like once the borders are open but, in the meantime, I’m

100 per cent squarely behind the minister sorting the poop issue out once and for all.

Hearing about it on the morning news year after year has been putting me off my cereals.