Tourism concessionaires : an exploratory study of concessionaires who actively contribute to conservation in New Zealand : a dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Masters [i.e. Master] of Parks, Recreation & Tourism [Management] (Professional) at Lincoln University

Abstract

Tourism is very focused on the natural environment in New Zealand and public conservation lands have been recognised as a vital component of the tourism product. However, does conservation in New Zealand, particularly the work of the Department of Conservation, need tourism? If so, do tourism operators contribute to conservation goals and can others be encouraged to do the same? This research examines seven concessionaires who actively contribute to conservation in New Zealand. The purpose of the study is to, firstly, find out what conservation actions these concessionaires undertake and, secondly, to understand the motives of operators and why they are participating in conservation. This research serves two purposes. It is submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Masters of Applied Science and to complete a Department of Conservation project on the same topic. Qualitative research techniques were chosen for this study because they enable the researcher to explore a phenomenon about which little is known. The exploratory nature of the study required a degree of flexibility in the research approach to enable the researcher to delve into complex processes. Case studies of each concessionaire and their conservation actions are presented. The motives of why operators participate in conservation are analysed from a demand (visitor), supply (business) and ethical perspective. The findings revealed that there are a wide range of motivations that explain why operators participate in conservation. However the key finding from this study is that while there were extrinsic and pragmatic demand and supply rationale motivating conservation actions, the most common and consistent motives were intrinsic and driven by the operators’ own individual environmental ethic. The environmental ethic was reinforced by the environmental conscience of visitors, the values of staff and the benefits that these actions could provide to the business.