“Last summer’s campaign reached almost two million people, educated visitors about how to camp responsibly and contributed to a reduction in complaints to councils about camping,” says Tourism New Zealand chief executive Stephen England-Hall.
“We’ll be building on this success by working closely with all councils and regional tourism organisations to create materials for anyone to use to educate campers on doing the right thing and caring for our home.”
The organisation received $300,000 from the government’s new $8 million responsible-camping funding to create and deliver the campaign. “New Zealand offers a range of camping options. This year, the campaign aims to promote the range of holiday parks, campgrounds and campsites on offer and make sure that if people choose to camp on public land they know how to do this responsibly.
“Local councils, tourism organisations and communities want people to camp responsibly, and we want to help them do that. If the guidance people see across New Zealand is consistent, it’s more likely to have a greater impact on influencing their behaviour.”
The campaign encourages people to plan their journeys, use facilities and leave no trace. It will run from December to the end of March 2020 and use a range of tactics, including free wi-fi to reinforce what New Zealand expects of campers. Watch this space for more information over summer.
