A branded coastal drive spanning NZ could boost tourism and help remote areas – Editorial
As a tourist destination, New Zealand has its masterpiece vistas - the sights that hopefully put it on many people’s lists of countries to visit in their lifetimes.
Fiordland, Aoraki Mount Cook, the Remarkables and Lake Wānaka are among them.
Beyond the must-see highlights, tourists like to uncover gems - the little-seen quiet bays, clear beaches, striking headlands, close encounters with fish and birdlife and different experiences that stay in the memory.
A key issue is how to connect visitors and domestic tourists with lesser-known areas, and boost tourism and economic activity in those regions.
Speaking about his area of the Far North this week, South Hokianga community member Denis Orme referred to its untapped potential.
“The harbour is absolutely beautiful, with some wonderful sand dunes in the background and good access to Tāne Mahuta, it could be a really good destination.”
He said relatively simple improvements could support tourism and local jobs.
When looking at what other countries promote as drawcards, plenty of ours are too well hidden.
The best advice to give an overseas relative or friend would be to come out for a lengthy digital nomad stay to unearth those treasures themselves.
Increasingly, people are getting ideas and suggested travel itineraries including places to stay and eat from locals on social media sites.
What New Zealand lacks is a famous, easily accessible, adventurous concept for itineraries that would sweep up a lot of those hidden gems.
It can be done. Scotland has its North Coast 500 and Ireland the Wild Atlantic Way.
They’re concepts that capture imaginations, give a travel trip focus, and allow for all the logical stops and anywhere within day-trip range to be part of the publicity.
They get people to areas they may not otherwise consider visiting.
Both feed off the fact that people love a completist travel challenge, whether it’s a car trip, or train, bus, or ship journey.
They are also easily tackled by anyone. Getting into the outdoors for walks can be worked into the overall journey. But it’s not as formidable as setting out to hike all of the Great Walks or attempting the 3000km Te Araroa.
New Zealand’s tourism is broadly focused on key regions and cities. We do have several separate scenic routes, like the Pacific Coast Highway, but not a single encompassing drive.
Why not an East Coast Wave route for the north and a West Coast Wander for the south. The narrowness of the country would bring further inland areas into play.
The National Tourism Development Authority of Ireland says the 2500km Wild Atlantic Way has had a major economic impact, particularly on remote rural communities which didn’t see much tourism traffic before it began in 2014.
By 2024 it was generating €3 billion ($6b) in annual revenue, a near 60% increase in that decade, and had created an estimated 35,000 new jobs.
Scotland’s NC500 - launched in 2015 and covering 830km of the Highlands - has drawn complaints of being too popular.
Both routes have opportunities and lessons for New Zealand to learn from.