Phase 2: Environment

The draft Tourism Environment Action Plan was created in partnership with the tourism industry, unions, government, Māori and environmental organisations through the Tourism Environment Leadership Group between October 2022 and June 2023.

It explored 6 Tirohanga Hou (new outlooks) for ensuring the tourism industry protects and restores the climate and environment. These tirohanga hou were underpinned by 22 initiatives to achieve the outcomes sought.

The 6 Tirohanga Hou are:

• tourism journeys are decarbonised
• tourism champions biodiversity
• visitor management is optimised for te taiao
• accelerated technology uptake and innovation enable regeneration
• tourism businesses are incentivised and enabled for sustainability and regeneration
• the tourism system and its levers are optimised and resourced to support regeneration.

You can read the Draft Tourism Environment Action Plan and summary document at:

Why the environment?

The second phase of the Tourism ITP focused on the environment and tourism. Ensuring the tourism industry protects and restores the environment is important because Aotearoa New Zealand’s natural environment is central to our attraction as a destination.

Reducing the contribution that tourism makes to greenhouse gas emissions is vital, both to achieve Aotearoa New Zealand’s emissions reduction commitments and to ensure it remains a popular destination for climate-conscious visitors. There are already examples of the tourism industry reducing its impact on the environment and giving back to nature.

Scope of the environment phase of the Tourism ITP

The Leadership Group focused on 3 pillars that underline this phase of the ITP:

• Climate change adaptation – understanding the impact that climate change will have on the tourism industry and taking action to ensure the industry can adapt to climate events
• Climate change mitigation – transforming the tourism industry into a low carbon emissions industry
• Fostering positive ecological outcomes, such as biodiversity and ecosystem restoration

View the full scope document of the environment phase of the ITP:

Tourism Industry Transformation Plan: Te Taiao / The Environment phase – Scope [PDF, 199 KB]

Environment Tourism ITP Leadership Group

The first pillar was undertaken by Aotearoa Circle, which has published its Tourism Adaptation Roadmap.

Tourism Adaptation Roadmap(external link)

The second and third pillars (emissions reduction and biodiversity) were explored in the Draft Tourism Environment Action Plan.