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7 July 2020
PLESE KEEP THE CONTENTS OF THIS LETTER CONFIDENTIAL
Tēnā koe,
We are writing to invite you to be a part of the Advisory Group to the New Zealand Tourism Futures Taskforce.
COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on the tourism sector in New Zealand. In the short-term, those impacts
are going to persist, particularly in the absence of international visitors. However, in the long-term, we know that
tourism will grow again. It’s a sector that has weathered world wars, global economic recessions, and even
pandemics.
Tourism brings a number of benefits to New Zealand – from economic to social to cultural - however there are a
number of negative impacts associated with tourism growth, which have contributed to a steady decline of social
licence for the tourism sector over the last few years.
This is why we have to ensure that when tourism in New Zealand does return to the levels seen pre-COVID-19,
we take this opportunity to move to a more productive, sustainable and inclusive tourism system.
The New Zealand Tourism Futures Taskforce
In May 2020, the Minister of Tourism established the New Zealand Tourism Futures Taskforce (the Taskforce).
The Taskforce is a public/private partnership and its primary purpose is to:
a) advise on the broad options that will systematically align the tourism system to one that enriches
both New Zealand and the wellbeing of New Zealanders, meaning that tourism will contribute more
than it consumes against the four capitals: economy, society, environment and culture
b) make recommendations to address the long-standing productivity, inclusivity and sustainability
(environmental, social and economic) issues present in some parts of the sector.
The Taskforce will consist of a small number of core members and be supported and informed by an Advisory
Group. The core group will be responsible for decision-making, and the Advisory Group will help us test
solutions and synthesise information to support the final recommendations made by the Taskforce. The process
will run until April 2021, when we, as co-Chairs of the Taskforce, will deliver recommendations to the Tourism
Recovery Ministers.
About the Advisory Group
We consider you have the capability, networks and knowledge to make a valuable contribution to the Advisory
Group, and we would appreciate your involvement and expertise with the aim of improving the tourism system in
New Zealand. We hope that the Taskforce and Advisory Group will be a forum for collaboration, using a design-
led process to enable creative, out-of-the-box thinking on how we can shift tourism to a truly sustainable,
inclusive and productive system. We believe you can help us provide robust and innovative advice on the future
direction of tourism in New Zealand, including how policy settings and legislation may need to be adapted to
enable the desired result for New Zealand.
We hope that the Advisory Group will convene 2 – 3 times during the lifetime of the Taskforce for a series of full-
day, facilitated workshops. Membership to the Advisory Group is voluntary, and as such, there will be no
remuneration however travel, accommodation and meal costs will be covered by the Taskforce Secretariat.
Attached to this offer is the draft Terms of Reference for the Taskforce, setting out the purpose and objectives,
and a draft process roadmap as we work towards delivering an initial report to Cabinet in December 2020.
Confidentiality
This letter has been sent to you
in confidence. We would greatly appreciate if you can keep this invitation and
your response
highly confidential until the membership of the Advisory Group has been officially announced.
Next steps
Please let us know if you are interested in joining the Advisory Group by emailing
[email address] – on or before Thursday, 9 July 2020. In order to keep the process as
transparent as possible, eventually, once the membership is announced, we would like to publish the names of
the final Advisory Group – please let us know if you consent to have your name and organisation made public.
The core group of the Taskforce will meet for the first time on 9 July 2020, and we will be in touch to provide a
further update on the process, decisions to date, and to arrange the first meeting of the Advisory Group in due
course.
We hope that you will join us on this exciting journey as we work to deliver bold recommendations that will
transform our tourism system to one that enriches both New Zealand, and the wellbeing of New Zealanders.
Ngā mihi
Grant Webster and Steve Chadwick
Co-Chairs, New Zealand Tourism Futures Taskforce
