| Greymouth, New Zealand - Discussions
at Tai
Poutini Polytechnic during 1999 resulted in the commissioning
of a feasibility study in 2000 to ascertain the level of support
for training programmes in ecotourism.
Kevin Piper, who tutored a course in International Tourism
-- and was himself an accommodation operator with an ecotourism
business -- carried out the study. He reported in August 2000
that there was sufficient interest, both from potential students
and those who might employ them, to warrant establishing a Certificate
in Ecotourism. No other tertiary skills training was available
in New Zealand, and conservative estimates were that around
2,000 jobs would be created in the following five years.
In 2001, some detailed work was done on curriculum design; ecotourism
development was included as a key part of the Regional Economic
Development Strategy; and a decision was made to appoint a project
manager.
I was appointed project manager in May 2002, but did not begin
until October of that year. In the interim, I completed a piece
of research that examined the attitudes of public sector leaders
in the region to the development of ecotourism. That showed
there was guarded support, but there were a number of caveats.
A summary of the research was presented at the 2006 Ecotourism
conference, and is available on the EcotourismNZ
website.
CERTIFICATE AND DIPLOMA PROGRAMS
The Certificate in Ecotourism began in February 2003 and a
Diploma was added in 2004. Broadly, the Certificate is focused
on giving people the skills to research the stories of any environment
– the ecological and geological stories, together with
the 'people' stories (including legends) –
and to offer those stories to the range of visitors to that
environment.
It also includes introductions to Te Ao Maori (the Maori world),
and to the tourism industry. The Diploma advances these skills
and understandings in a distance learning format, and includes
business skills and a research project.
STUDENTS
These programmes have attracted an international array of
students, including from New Caledonia (with assistance from
NZAID), Germany, Japan and Australia. Tai Poutini Polytechnic
does not charge tuition fees for New Zealand and Australian
students. For students from other countries, the fee in 2008
will be NZD13,545. Certificate students spend 24 weeks on campus
between April and October, then 10 weeks in the paid workforce.
You can see more details online.
CONFERENCES
In 2006 we ran the first Ecotourism in New Zealand conference.
The response was sufficiently supportive that we ran another
in 2007. With a primary aim of supporting operators, it looks
set to become an annual event.
I think that the future for ecotourism in this region is exciting:
if you look at Tom
Walter's photos and Tourism
West Coast and you'll get a sense of why.
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