The Queenstown Lakes District Council has endorsed plans to become a carbon zero visitor economy by 2030.
The destination management plan offers a roadmap to regenerative tourism and is a collaboration involving Destination Queenstown, Lake Wanaka Tourism and the council.
While tourism contributed 21 percent to the district’s GDP in 2021, it was expected to return to its pre-Covid-19 levels of 40 percent soon.
The plan said choosing decarbonisation as the first peak to climb was intentionally ambitious and didn’t allow for delay but it was possible through collaboration.
It also aimed to increase the total value of the visitor economy while building economic resilience.
Today, councillors voted to endorse the plan, with mayor Glyn Lewers urging councillors to help the plan to succeed.
“If we show leadership in this space and really drive it individually as each councillor here sitting at this table, I think we, no matter whether we endorse it or adopt it, I think we can drive this plan to great height and really force that change that this district has called out for,” Lewers said.
A report was tabled to the council, detailing the plan and the recommendation to endorse it.
The council’s strategy and policy general manager and report author, Michelle Morss, said they had taken the view that decarbonisation was essential if the district was going to achieve regenerative tourism.
“That’s actually only 2882 days away from now so there has been some progress being made,” she said.
“That has so far involved a line-by-line assessment of all of our emissions as a district – the good, the bad, the ugly.
“We’re including aviation, we’re not shying away from anything at all. Identifying some gaps and some ways that we can move forward with this work.”
An endorsement meant they were able to progress the plan into more detail and pursue funding, she said.
The report confirmed that scoping work was underway to define the delivery of that key project and it’s expected to be finished next month.
An investigation with the government is also underway to understand how the project can be funding, with the report saying it required significant investment.
