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Tourism businesses operating on sensitive conservation land are to be given the opportunity to extend their leases to between 15 and 20 years under a new agreement signed by the Department of Conservation and the Tourism Industry Association.
The agreement, which has been two years in the making, will give greater certainty to businesses which have had to face renewals on a five-yearly basis with no guarantee they will win a tender process.
The arrangement sets out a new national framework for the concession process. Around 1500 concessions are given to commercial operators to work on DoC land throughout the country.
Department of Conservation director Al Morrison said he hoped the new arrangement would encourage tourism operators to invest more in their businesses.
"The key thing this delivers is certainty for tourism operators. That is really important to us and to everyone because without certainty they won't invest and we need investment in tourism."
Morrison said the agreement also paved the way for further potential partnerships between the department and the tourism industry.
Tourism Industry Association chief executive Tim Cossar said it had been a challenging area. "It's fair and reasonable to operators who have established a good working relationship with DoC and gives them recognition for doing a good job."
The new agreement will give preferential treatment to existing operators who meet new qualifying criteria.
That includes meeting all previous concession criteria, compliance with all regulatory requirements, no convictions or infringement actions under the Conservation Act and having Qualmark or a similar accreditation.
While this could make it tougher for new operators wanting to gain a concession, Morrison said the tender process would allow them to bid on existing and new concessions.
Dave Hawkey, chief executive of Real Journeys, which operates in the Milford Sound area, said the agreement was important for businesses which operated on DoC land and those linked with DoC estates as it provided a lot more opportunities.
Businesses affected include guided walks, marine mammal viewing operators, heli-skiing and jetboating.
BACKPACKER FIRM TOPS AWARDS
A backpacker bus company has won the top award at the tourism industry's annual prize-giving.
Auckland-based Magic Travellers Network was last night given the supreme prize at the Tourism Industry Awards, fighting off competition from Rotorua's Agrodome and Queenstown's Grand Mecure Hotel.
The transport business was recognised by the judges for its strong infrastructure, staff management and customer service. It also won the tourism and transportation category and received a special award from Qualmark recognising quality.
Other category winners included Air New Zealand Grabaseat, which won the innovation award; Skydive Lake Wanaka, for best small tourism operator; and Wellington-based Karori Sanctuary, for its conservation action.
Real Journeys took out the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise export award and The Langham Hotel in Auckland won the Green Globe Sustainability award.
