Development of an Environmental Effects and Tourist Flow Data Management System

There is increasing concern about the environmental sustainability of tourism based on natural attractions. We have developed a preliminary computer-based data management system that integrates information about tourists and their use of natural assets with information about how indicators of asset health respond to increasing visitor numbers. First, we collected data on tourist flows between demand (natural attractions) and supply (visitor nodes) sites for the West Coast of New Zealand. Second, we studied a variety of natural asset types in an attempt to develop models describing relationships between visitor numbers and impacts from these visits. These data were then combined to produce the environmental effects and tourism flows data management system for the West Coast. We modelled tourist flows to a range of assets, including the Franz Josef and Fox glaciers, Lake Matheson, the Okarito white heron colony, Pancake Rocks, the Cape Foulwind seal colony and a range of caves in the Buller area. Some assets, e.g., the white heron colony, are already nearing biophysical capacity, while others are not, e.g., the glaciers. Application/Implications: The system allows us to simulate potential environmental responses to increasing tourist numbers and/or changing composition of tourist flows. This information is needed for tourism planning at national and regional scales to ensure that natural assets are managed sustainably. Future developments include refinement of the impact models, and scalingup to the national level. 1 Email: [email protected]; phone (03) 3256 700; fax (03) 3252 418; Landcare Research, PO Box 69, Lincoln 8152