NZ's Tourism Bubble - Queenstown's Soul

Posted 19th July 2016 to the Mountain scene Newspaper Queenstown NZ

It is nice to see a discussion about Future Tourism from David Kennedy in the Mountain Scene.
There is indeed a lot to talk about to ramp up production yet there is sadness that Global Tourism
That we don’t address. In 1964 when the First Jet Airliners opened up New Zealand to the World the World was
A different place, travel brought you to different Cultures and unknown places People noticed you if you where a tourist
They would want to talk to you as an ambassador of another country.

Over the decades now things have changed. Globalization and Modern Communications combined with budget air travel
has made the World a lot more generic, smaller, financially tighter for Tourism and way-more fickle!

The Idea of growth to is under review to as climate degradation action means action must be taken in the next few years

Sadly Queenstown is an aberration, a bubble caused by an insane financial system. It is no longer unique, and if Rational People Rule the World
Queenstown will need a Total re-think to survive at all. You might need to find your SOUL again!

Queenstown NZ Mayor bid 2016

Posted 28th June 2016 to the Mountain Scene Newspaper Queenstown NZ

 Jim Bolt For Mayor?
I like Jim he has a load of energy and cleverness but where is the heart? He spoke in Te Anau and said Queenstown was a terrible place when he first arrived there
But now it is wonderful thanks to Businessmen and Loads of Money. Really Jim?

Many Southlanders think Queenstown is a heartless gawd awful mess because everyone there is stabbing their neighbor in the back for a buck.
Jim is right Prosperity is nice but it has to be equitable  or it all goes to custard..

And as one of your readers pointed out development should be done the Swiss way..with attention to detail and feeling.

Any chance we can get a candidate from the Green Party... you know...  Someone with Heart...

Mountain Scene - Edwardian Tourism Reboot ?

Posted 8th February 2014 to the Mountain Scene Newspaper Queenstown

Back in the days of the Clark Government Queenstown and Glenorchy and Queenstown where visited by agents from the Swiss Tourism industry
They looked at what could be done to resurrect the amazing Pre Edwardian era Tourism infrastructure in the Glenorchy Paradise Region, It must have been a mirror of Switzerland When one could take a Paddle steamer up the Lake to a Grand Style Hotel and get guided tours of the then Jura Glacier on Mt Earnslaw.
Whether any business idea where formed about rebooting this era is not known to me but it poses some interesting questions,
Local Politics being one and the “Auckland-ization” of the Wakatipu Area is another, then there is creeping malignant contempt of the past that would no doubt be alien to the Swiss.

All of which is a shame as we lost our South Pacific Switzerland at the top of the Lake half a century ago first with the fire at the Mt Earnslaw Hotel The Scrapping for the PS Mountaineer and eventually the Road Link, which last nail in the proverbial Coffin. What makes it worse is that the New Chinese visitors come here to see how we are and how we use to be, and it’s all burnt out, scrapped and buried. Seems only the Swiss have a working business model for sustained Edwardian era Tourism.