New Zealand needs to urgently address the lack of viable accommodation or face losing a major source of national income, a tourism spokesman has said in light of a recent study.
Research undertaken for Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) has concluded that developing new accommodation is the main priority required to support the growth of New Zealand's booming tourism industry.
This will have greater added tourism impact for the country than any other category on infrastructure.
TIA chief executive Chris Roberts said smart and active interventions are needed to ensure tourism growth is sustainable, and that the tourism boom is putting pressure on some of our most popular destinations.
"We need to address this as a country, otherwise we won't be able to keep growing, the visitor experience could suffer and we'll lose community support for tourism."
The Deloitte study, National Tourism Infrastructure Assessment, said the industry will have to work closely with central and local government to coordinate action, and that market forces alone are unlikely to be enough to plug the gaps.
The study highlights telecommunications, airport facilities, road transport, car parking, toilets, and water and sewerage systems as other priorities.
Newshub.
