Tourism recovery - without stepping on the gas - NZIER Insight 95

March 9, 2021

With borders closed for the foreseeable future New Zealand tourism is facing a loss of substantial revenue from the lack of foreign visitors, who would usually maintain demand for tourism businesses after the end of the peak summer holidays for domestic tourists. But after the COVID-19 set-back, what will recovery look like in a world attempting to curb its emissions of greenhouse gases and global warming? New Zealand legislation now aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, government declared a climate change emergency last year, and the Climate Change Commission (CCC) set up to design a road map for getting there has just issued its first draft report for consultation. While tourism operators may hope to get back to how things were before COVID-19 appeared, is that feasible in the current climate?