Three South Island tourist hotspots will require visitors to pay for parking summer of 2025-2026 to help manage visitor demand and bolster conservation efforts.
The Department of Conservation (DoC) will test paid parking at Franz Josef Glacier, Punakaiki Pancake Rocks and White Horse Hill in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park.
DoC heritage & visitors director Catherine Wilson said user-paid parking was not unusual in other countries and meant people could contribute to maintaining places they visit.
“The approach brings us in line with overseas solutions for similar issues,” she said.
“By contributing to costs at high-use sites, visitors give back to the places they enjoy, helping create a more regenerative model to sustain New Zealand’s precious biodiversity.”