KEY POINTS:
Sustainability and carbon neutrality are the buzz words at this week's annual tourism industry conference in Rotorua.
Many stalls at Trenz (Tourism Rendezvous New Zealand) - where the industry showcases its wares for local and international buyers - were promoting the industry's green credentials.
Among operators committing to carbon neutrality were amphibious boat operator Rotorua Duck Tours, Christchurch-based Adventure South which offers cycling and hiking tours, public transport operator InterCity Group and Trenz itself.
Even a region - the so-called Hawkes Bay Wine Country - has set its sights on sustainability, aiming to become the first carbon neutral region, "providing a leading example to the rest of the country".
Sustainability is a key element of the draft New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2015 released last week, based on the expectation that tourists are becoming increasingly concerned about the environment.
Jerry Bridge, managing director of UK specialist up-market tour operator Bridge & Wickers, said carbon emissions and the environment were big issues in Britain - New Zealand's second-largest market with 301,651 visitors in the year ending April.
"Every travel article in all the major papers, there's always talk about it," Bridge said. "From the industry's point of view we need to be as positive and to be seen to be doing as much as possible."
Airlines were getting a lot of flak from the British Government, he said.
"They seem to be using air travel as a bit of a scapegoat which is a shame, as it drives the airfares up and makes people think, 'Should we be going to places like New Zealand?"'
However, tourists were not yet going elsewhere.
"These things start off slowly," Bridge said. "That's why the industry collectively has to get together and form a united front."
The active interest being shown by the New Zealand industry was a good move, he said.
"Because of the brand and the strap line '100 % Pure', it has to be extremely aware and confident and at the forefront of that whole discussion, especially because of the distance involved in getting here."
Bridge & Wickers was looking at the possibility of planting trees in North Queensland as part of their holiday offering.
"There are programmes there that for every passenger we book we can either pay for it ourselves or we can ask them to pay £2 towards the planting of a tree," Bridge said.
About 400 tourism exhibitors and 370 buyers from 28 countries have descended on Rotorua for the annual get-together.
Tourism Industry Association chief executive Fiona Luhrs said the conference planning was itself evidence of good environmental management.
In organising Trenz, the association joined LandCare Research's CarboNZero scheme - which helped decide how many trees to buy for planting to mitigate fuel emissions - and worked with the Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter helping obtain recyclable, environmentally friendly materials from as many local suppliers as possible.
Public opinion had reached a tipping point in relation to environmental sustainability but it was hard to determine how intensely the view was currently held, Luhrs said.
"But I think we'd have to say that in the Northern Hemisphere the views are widely held amongst influential people about food miles and environmental sustainability and we would be very vulnerable if we ignored it."
Tourism Minister Damien O'Connor was more blunt.
"I believe that committing to a sustainable future is the only way forward for tourism," he said.
"We must develop a sustainable tourism proposition which is so compelling that all our visitors will continue to feel good about travelling here."
