When I think about New Zealand opening again my heart sings and a wave of excitement rushes over me. I think about the smiling faces descending into Queenstown, people picking up their first campervan and hitting the road, and the buzz for local business. But, I’m here to challenge the narrative and hopefully make someone stop and listen, because if one person listens - we’re winning, right? The nations tourism board, the lead airline and the government have not released any new of information about sustainable travel, about how to manage mass tourism or how travellers should behave when they enter NZ. I watched a recent NZ promo ‘New Zealand is open’ ‘New Zealand is ready’ ‘New Zealand is yours for the taking’ It felt like a reintroduction & welcoming of mass /over tourism again. NZ is not yours, theirs or for the taking, it’s our home and I’ll be damned if I don’t say my piece. We’ve had two years to create something, but nothing. Can we use this space for education?Encourage sustainable practices, look inwards and see what we can be doing better to help our new guests? As corporate companies - what are you doing to ensure that people actually leave no trace. We have the Tiaki Promise but that means nothing to those who firstly don’t read it and secondly don’t care. Have we thought about how New Zealand is about to be inundated with footprints, extra cars, flights, coffee cups and the rest of it? As influencers, content creators and those who do the hard yards to ‘promote’ NZ as a destination, for free, are you educating your audience? Are we encouraging safe and respectful practice in our backcountry, in our forests and oceans? Aotearoa is about to open its arms to those who want a slice of the paradise but will you join me to throw out our arms in protection and respect for the whenua? If you’re with me in creating some kind of awareness and hopefully getting the attention of those up top that will listen can you drop a comment 👇🏻 I have an idea, but I need humans. I need NZ advocates, I need the people who are as passionate about this land as I am to join me 🍃 #purenewzealand #newzealand #aotearoa