Queenstown’s ‘stress’ worries Govt

Press, 21 June 1985, Page 24

Queenstown’s ‘stress’ worries Govt

By OLIVER RIDDELL in Wellington The Government is concerned about the signs of stress from the tourist boom that are now appearing in Queenstown. “This town has both enjoyed the tourist boom and suffered from it,” said the Minister of Tourism, Mr Moore. Tourists had brought wealth into Queenstown and its district; hotel occupancy had increased remarkably and businesses had experienced a phenomenal growth

in trade. But, land and property prices and rents had also reached record levels, he said. While there was a problem in accommodating visitors, there was an even greater problem in finding accommodation for the workforce needed to provide services for visitors. The manual telephone exchange could not cope with the demand and the roading system was overloaded at certain times in certain areas, Mr Moore said. Social stability was affected as the

workforce became ever more transient. The community ceased to be balanced as families could not afford to meet the requirements of the market for buying or renting accommodation. Points of friction and misunderstanding arose between the developers and the residents. “We have to recognise that there are adverse social impacts arising from tourism development in Queenstown,” Mr Moore said. “We have to do some-

thing about it in co-opera-tion with the locally-elected representatives and their advisers.” The Tourism Council had discussions with the Queenstown Borough Council and Lakes County Council, he said. They agreed that a task force would examine tourism development options in the southern lakes region, and the social and environmental impacts of those developments. In particular, it would look at Queenstown and seek ways of relieving the

adverse effects of development, he said. It would seek to ensure that the character and charm of Queenstown did not become a casualty of those forces which sought to exploit those very qualities. The problems experienced by workers in Queenstown in finding accommodation which they could afford had prompted a special study by the Tourist and Publicity Department, the Housing Corporation and the Ministry of Works, Mr Moore said. _____