Project Forever Waiheke E-News

Project Forever Waiheke E-News

2023 has seen some really major challenges thrown at the Waiheke community – floods, serious stormwater problems, continuing ferry mismanagement, and ferry fare increases in particular. The response of the community – neighbours, community groups, the Local Board, and our fantastic social, health and emergency services – has been nothing short of heroic. Those of us who’ve lived on the island for decades know that that response is no accident – it’s built on the Waiheke spirit of connection, support for neighbours and others, and a profound ethos of kaitiakitanga and care for the island itself.

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PFW News Update: February 2022

PFW News Update: February 2022

“Time to rethink tourism”: UN World Tourism Organisation

As Kiwis see our borders opening again – at last – the Project Forever Waiheke team has been exploring how tourism scholars and planners internationally, and here in NZ, are envisaging the future of tourism.

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on global tourism, particularly for developing countries and island nations like Fiji, Cook Islands and Tonga, whose economies depend significantly on international tourists and who cannot pivot to domestic tourism.

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PFW News Update: September 2021

PFW News Update: September 2021

Planning New Zealand tourism’s next directions: Where to after Delta? Update - Spring 2021

Our government, while currently sticking to its elimination strategy, is now focussing on vaccination as the way forward for recovering everyday freedoms in Aotearoa New Zealand. The freedom to travel and move around – whether for work, education, medical appointments, entertainment or a holiday – is dependent on vaccination rates being as high as possible. Countries already permitting tourism again have turned to ‘vaccination passports’ of various kinds, and they are also being used increasingly to encourage, or require, vaccination rates in work and other domestic settings. A similar concept is being developed here.

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PFW News Update: June 2021

PFW News Update: June 2021

The future of tourism

As Aotearoa New Zealand for the moment maintains its precarious Covid-free community status, most tourism providers around the country have accepted that until every eligible person is fully vaccinated, keeping our borders closed to international tourists is essential. Not least because this allows domestic tourists to travel freely around the country, and without local tourism, many businesses that rely heavily on tourism could be forced to either go into hibernation or close their doors for good. And when the borders are opened up again, there is a similar acknowledgement that NZ tourism cannot return to ‘business as usual’ based on pre-Covid levels: resetting and rebuilding a more regenerative tourism industry is crucial to the country’s future prosperity and wellbeing.

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PFW News Update: January 2021

Tourism in the time of COVID

It has been a gratifyingly busy summer holiday period for the island’s visitor services and local businesses. Although visitor numbers were down, the total spend in December 2020 was only 2.3% less than the same period last year. The numbers reflect a rise in domestic tourism, with Kiwis from all over the country enjoying our beaches, walking trails, wineries and restaurants.

However, tourism providers are worrying that with the school holidays ending and most New Zealanders returning to their everyday lives, the picture for the next few months is far from rosy. In their latest newsletter, Waiheke Island Tourism Inc (WITI) posed the question of ‘the Waiheke wear-out factor’. “Once Kiwis have ticked Waiheke off their to-do list, do we get classified as ‘been there, done that’, and they’re off looking for somewhere new to go?”

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In remembrance – George Tearoha Kahi 1950-2020

In remembrance – George Tearoha Kahi 1950-2020

It is with great sadness that Project Forever Waiheke (PFW) acknowledges the passing of our kaumatua and fellow local working group member, Ngāti Pāoa elder George Kahi, in the last days of 2020.

George was 100% committed to the promotion and celebration of Māori culture and heritage on Waiheke, as well as wider social and environmental issues. PFW was just one of many island committees, organisations and community groups he was involved with. That dozens of Islanders from all walks of life travelled to George’s tangihana at Wharekawa Marae in Kaiaua on 29 December is testament to his wide-ranging mahi and enormous mana. He is greatly missed.

Read more about George Kahi’s life and work.

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Survey shows Waiheke incomes affected by lockdowns

Survey shows Waiheke incomes affected by lockdowns

A survey of Waiheke residents undertaken by Project Forever Waiheke and the University of Auckland School of Environment has found that COVID19 has affected locals’ incomes, with just over half reporting some decrease, although for many that was temporary. Issues ranged from temporary to permanent job losses or reduction in tourism-related income, and people working in tourism and hospitality were apparently the most affected.

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PFW News: September 2020

Tourism: where to from here?

During our 100-odd Covid-free days, local businesses benefitted from the many New Zealanders (and trapped tourists) who visited the island. The school holidays were especially busy, and there was a general feeling that domestic tourism would keep Waiheke’s economy in a relatively healthy state until the border restrictions were lifted. We also had high hopes of a trans-Tasman bubble and travel to some Pacific islands in the near future.

Our government has been acutely aware of the damage to the national economy and implemented a number of measures, including a major funding package, to help mitigate loss of tourism income. In Queenstown and Rotorua. Kiwis have tried hard to spend locally, but the impacts of losing overseas tourists are far-reaching, and the re-emergence of Covid-19 in some Auckland communities has reminded us that our freedom to travel, even in our own part of the world, is still a long way off. In the meantime, it becomes more and more obvious that tourism, here and globally, needs a radical re-think, and there’s been plenty of comment on this in the mainstream and social media.

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News Roundup: June 2020

First, a big shout-out to our ‘team of 10,000’ who, along with the island’s suppliers and providers, came together to support one another and sustain the Waiheke community through alert levels 3 and 4, and find creative solutions to lockdown problems. Special mentions go to:

· Fullers360, which ran a regular schedule throughout the lockdown period, and allowed free travel for everyone who needed to get to and from the city, or to visit family on Waiheke

· Kai Conscious Café, which turned into ‘Kai Conscious Takeaway’ during level 4, making sure that nobody on the island went hungry

· Waiheke Budgeting Services, who provided food parcels to more than 200 South Americans stranded here with no jobs or financial assistance

· Piritahi Hau Ora, who distributed around 200 care parcels to whānau in need during lockdown

· The nurses who ‘got up our noses’ and conducted hundreds of Covid-19 tests at each of Waiheke’s three medical centres

· The staff at Countdown, who worked long hours and extra shifts to keep the shelves stocked throughout lockdown

· WISCA, who found foster homes for all the animals in their care while they were closed at level 4, (many of which have become permanent homes)

· Waiheke Couriers, who worked overtime to deliver all the goods we ordered online

Although we have now moved to level 1 relatively unscathed from the health crisis posed by the coronavirus, we know the economic impacts are far from over. Tourism is particularly hard-hit. However, the rapid creation of a nationwide digital, outdoor and print campaign “Waiheke: a world apart, not a world away” may already be having an effect. Certainly the amount of traffic on our roads is similar to pre-Covid levels – and the island has been so busy at weekends since level 2 that we have even seen the return of the double-decker buses, much to many islanders’ dismay.

But instead of rushing back to business as usual, a local and national goal now is looking at resetting the tourism industry to focus more on environmental sustainability and community engagement. “The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence — it is to act with yesterday’s logic”– Peter Drucker, management guru. Even during lockdown, the Ministry of Tourism was working on a major review of how NZ tourism can better take into account community needs and a greater community share of the benefits of tourism.

With this focus in mind, Project Forever Waiheke recently convened a meeting with key Waiheke organisations involved in tourism and sustainability, including the Local Board, Waiheke Island Tourism Forum and the Waiheke Sustainability Centre, to think creatively about future alliances and a shared vision for both sustainable and restorative tourism on our island. The Local Board is planning for a broad community engagement on this theme in the near future – keep your eye out for notices about that.

This new focus is echoed in a recent report from the University of Auckland’s Koi Tū: The Centre for Informed Futures. Sir Peter Gluckman and colleagues point out that: “Tourism is a huge industry, and one with significant effects on our most iconic landscapes. The sector also generates a huge amount of CO2 emissions from long-haul and domestic air travel (including helicopters) and heavy domestic transport by road… [Despite successive reports on the negative impacts] New Zealand has not significantly diverted from an extractive path with regard to tourism… Is there now an opportunity to pivot to higher-value, lower-volume tourism, as the tourism sector reinvents itself? And beyond this, can tourism focus on Aotearoa values over volume?

The concept of ‘restorative tourism’ – going beyond sustainability to contributing actively to help regenerate damaged landscapes and ecosystems – is gaining momentum internationally. To what extent could we expand on this in our tourism sector, offering more meaningful nature tourism experiences?”

Read more about restorative/regenerative tourism
See how restorative tourism is working in Cuba

Here on Waiheke, we are in a great position to offer more meaningful visitor experiences, and already we are seeing some businesses reinvent themselves for a post-Covid world. Waiheke Walking Festival, for instance, is planning a longer, 18-day schedule, aiming to give walkers a more intimate experience, enticing them to stay longer and support local businesses.

Then there’s On The House, an innovative campaign that gave visitors free accommodation for the weekend of 19-20 June, while pumping what they saved back into local visitor experiences and other island businesses.

Potiki Adventures is also reassessing its visitor experiences for domestic travellers: “Māori concepts that are thousands of years old already hold the key”, says owner/director Bianca Ranson. And EcoZip has partnered with Waiheke Resources Trust to give visitors the chance to offset all their ferry and vehicle transport emissions by planting an eco-sourced native tree.

Another special experience is the night sky above the island, which recently included colourful displays of scintillation. Because light pollution is relatively low, we are lucky to be able to see these awe-inspiring displays without a telescope, says Gareth Davies of Dark-Sky Waiheke.

In summary, the global pandemic and all its horrors has brought us to a turning point. This is our chance to advocate for meaningful change for the sake of all the inhabitants and resources of Waiheke (and indeed of Aotearoa)… Our communities, our wildlife, our forests, our waterways and oceans.

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