Queenstown Scores well Environmentally

26/02/10

Queenstown is outperforming the rest of the country environmentally according to latest research from the Regional Visitor Monitor.

Sixty-five per cent of visitors have rated the resort’s overall environmental performance as ‘ahead of most others’, compared to the national benchmark of 43 per cent. And 97% of visitors to Queenstown believe our environmental performance is better than or equal to others.

The RVM is a joint quarterly survey initiative between the Ministry of Tourism, Tourism New Zealand and six of New Zealand’s largest Regional Tourism Organisations.   

Destination Queenstown CEO Tony Everitt says the research provides valuable insight into visitor expectations and satisfaction in the region.

“The research shows ‘beautiful scenery’ remains the most important expectation of visitors to Queenstown and this emphasis is at least 25 per cent higher than for the other regions. Undoubtedly our pristine alpine environment is our competitive advantage,” he says.

“It’s fantastic to see that despite this continued raising of the bar Queenstown’s perceived environmental performance is once again exceeding national benchmarks. There is no room for complacency however so it is also pleasing to note that many local tourism businesses are working through programmes like Green Globe, Qualmark Green, and Sustainable Tourism Advisors in Regions (STAR) to further lift their sustainability game.”

The positive results from the RVM reinforce latest figures from Statistics New Zealand’s Commercial Accommodation Monitor where Queenstown recorded the largest increase in guest nights for NZ in December 2009.

“Destination Queenstown find both useful research tools to help ensure we are operating as a premier four season resort town,” Mr Everitt says.

“The RVM in particular gives us and local operators a good indication of how and why travel decisions are made and the results can help highlight areas we need to develop further or improve.”