Summer is always the busy tourist season but this summer has been busier than usual. In the past year, more than 3 million visitors have arrived in New Zealand. For a small country with a population of only about 4.5 million, this puts pressure on the tourist industry. Many overseas tourists rent cars or camper vans. Roads are busier. There is a shortage of parking spaces in the towns. There is also a shortage of accommodation, and trained staff in the popular tourist towns like Queenstown.
While thousands of tourists are attracted to natural scenery like in National Parks, more people create extra waste, noise, and traffic. Is it time to charge overseas tourists to use our national parks? At the moment, it is free to enter national parks.
The busy tourist season is from December until the end of March. Nearly half of our tourists come from Australia where their school holidays are at the same time as our school holidays. New Zealand families are now finding accommodation in January is fully booked by overseas visitors. February this year has also been busy with Chinese tourists coming here during their New Year holiday.
Tourism New Zealand wants to extend the tourist season to provide jobs throughout the year. If winter brings good snow to the mountains, many Australian skiers visit in July, August and September. We need to attract tourists in spring and autumn. We also want to encourage tourists to travel to other places in New Zealand, not just the southern lakes, and Rotorua in the North Island.
You can hear more about Tourism and about Freedom camping by tourists.
Vocabulary
• shortage (n) – not enough
• to charge (v) – make people pay
• extend (v) – make longer
Note: spelling of busy, busier
Questions
1. What are the advantages of tourism for New Zealand?
2. Can you think of other disadvantages, not mentioned here?
3. What does New Zealand have to offer tourists in spring and autumn?
4. What have you enjoyed when you have been a tourist in another country?