Tourism, biosecurity and pathways into New Zealand: A framework for enhanced understanding of biosecurity risk and tourism

Abstract

Increasing trade and travel represent a challenge to New Zealand’s biosecurity system with the detection and management of biosecurity incursions at the border (and beyond) a key concern. Growth in passenger arrivals and changing patterns of arrival (e.g., via cruise ships) increase the potential for tourists to act as vectors for unwanted organisms. Biosecurity incursions and the spread of pests (alongside broader threats to biodiversity) also have the potential to impact negatively on the tourism experience and, ultimately, on the New Zealand economy.