Source: Radio New Zealand
Blue Springs, near Tirau RNZ/Carol Stiles
The tourism minister says she has a meeting planned with the mayor to discuss concerns about the Putāruru Blue Spring being trashed by tourists.
Earlier this week, Waikato Regional Council chairperson Warren Maher shared his concerns about the site, which he said was being trashed by tourists clogging composting toilets with rubbish, throwing coins in the spring and parking dangerously on the roadside.
Tourism Minister Louise Upston told Morning Report she visited the spring on Thursday, and in general, she had witnessed sensible behaviour.
She said businesses in the surrounding area were really positive about the influx of visitors spending money in the district.
Maher had suggested a share of the international visitor levy could go to councils to keep tourist spots clean.
Upston said there was funding available, including the International Visitor Levy, and some of the tourism funding was already spent on issues in hotspots – in fact, the majority of this financial year had been “on-demand”, she said.
Regarding Putāruru, she understood the South Waikato District Mayor was considering a park-and-ride option to reduce the impact of visitors, and there were other options available to raise funds to pay for upkeep.
“Access charging is always an option for councils, parking charges, to help offset some of the costs,” she said.
She said they needed to consider whether it would be best to take action during peak visitor periods, or if a more long-term solution was needed.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
