17/56 Milford Opportunities Project - Project Management and Research Services

Details

The Milford Opportunities Project is a response to the increasing pressures that Milford, Fiordland, and the wider tourism sector are experiencing. Increasing numbers and the opportunities for managing them is an issue that affects the environment, communities, and the economy. There is also a chance to create leveraging opportunities for Te Anau, Southland, and New Zealand Inc. The way visitors travel, particularly the trend away from the ‘packaged bus tour’ and towards greater numbers of Free Independent Travellers (FIT), has the potential to enable spreading the load from ‘must do’ visitor hotspots to broader regional tourism.

It is important that when looking at Milford opportunities, we consider Milford in its broadest context. The Milford experience is much more than just the activities that visitors can have in Milford Sound because the way people choose to travel creates different opportunities along the way. Understanding key issues such as the way people travel, how they determine their itineraries, what experience they are looking for, and visitor flows in and out of Milford will enable us to maximise opportunities for tourism and economic growth for the region.

Multiple agencies have an interest and are stakeholders in future planning and development of opportunities associated with Milford growth including: Southland District Council (SDC), Department of Conservation (DOC), New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA), Iwi, Milford Sound Tourism ((MST) - formerly the Milford Sound Development Authority (MDA)), Environment Southland (ES), Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE), Ministry of Transport (MOT), Ministry of Civil Defence and Emergency Management (MCDEM).