{"id":21200,"date":"2020-07-02T17:04:17","date_gmt":"2020-07-02T17:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=21200"},"modified":"2020-07-06T00:09:48","modified_gmt":"2020-07-06T00:09:48","slug":"the-sun-is-setting-on-unsustainable-long-haul-short-stay-tourism-regional-travel-bubbles-are-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/the-sun-is-setting-on-unsustainable-long-haul-short-stay-tourism-regional-travel-bubbles-are-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"The sun is setting on unsustainable long-haul, short-stay tourism \u2014 regional travel bubbles are the future"},"content":{"rendered":"

James Higham<\/a>, University of Otago<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Unprecedented border closures and the domestic lockdown have paralysed New Zealand\u2019s $40.9 billion a year<\/a> tourism industry. In the process, the vulnerability of the sector to external shocks and the tenuous nature of tourism employment have been exposed.<\/p>\n

While New Zealand\u2019s handling of the pandemic has been hailed as a global masterclass, and the prospect of travel bubbles promoted<\/a> as a way to restart the tourism economy and save jobs, it is clear there is no quick fix.<\/p>\n

The inherent dangers of reinfection from travel to and from countries with uncontrolled community transition, and the challenge<\/a> of protecting New Zealand\u2019s borders, mean international tourism is grounded for the time being.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, planning for recovery is underway. The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) wants to restore confidence<\/a> and restart tourism without delay. The European Union recently opened its borders<\/a> to travellers from certain countries, including New Zealand.<\/p>\n

But the proposed trans-Tasman and Pacific bubbles will likely be among the first safe international travel zones in the world.<\/p>\n

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A Tasman-Pacific bubble is good for the planet<\/h2>\n

The economic benefits are obvious. A recent study using UNWTO data<\/a> identified Australian tourists, who spend on average $7,490 on holidays, as the top spending tourists in the world. Of the 3.8 million international tourists who visited New Zealand in 2018, nearly 40% were from Australia.<\/p>\n

By the end of 2019, Australian tourists had spent $NZ 2.5 billion in the New Zealand economy. Of course, that figure is offset by the $NZ 1.6 billion spent by Kiwis visiting Australia in 2019.<\/p>\n

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\nRead more:
\nSun, sand and uncertainty: the promise and peril of a Pacific tourism bubble<\/a>
\n<\/strong>
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

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Simply wishing for a return to normal, however, is not enough. The tourism rebuild must negotiate a delicate balance between immediate recovery and long term sustainability. A new steady-state equilibrium that generates employment and income while driving down tourism carbon emissions is required.<\/p>\n

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic it was widely recognised that the global tourism system is economically and environmentally flawed. Our research has highlighted three main structural failures:<\/p>\n

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  1. low value (caused by growth in arrivals combined with declining spending)<\/li>\n
  2. economic \u201cleakage\u201d (due to outbound tourism and the concentration of profit flowing to a few global players)<\/li>\n
  3. high carbon emissions (from high-carbon transport dependence, increasing distance of travel and falling average length of stay).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Reducing travel distances is key<\/h2>\n

    In the case of a geographically distant destination like New Zealand, there is no ignoring the last of those problems, as a report<\/a> by the New Zealand Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment highlighted in late 2019.<\/p>\n