Issue #947

by Mat Woods, Chief Executive Destination Queenstown

As a mountain destination, Queenstown shares many similarities with alpine regions around the world. Our incredible landscapes have put us on the map, creating strong visitor economies and attracting people from across the globe to live and work in our vibrant regions.

These common themes inspired Queenstown’s sister-city relationship with Aspen, Colorado more than three decades ago. It’s an incredibly valuable partnership that continues today, as we learn from the challenges and opportunities in managing thriving towns.

Last week, we hosted a delegation from City of Aspen and Aspen Chamber Resort Association, alongside Mayor Glyn Lewers, Queenstown Lakes District Council, and Sharon Fifield, CEO Queenstown Business Chamber of Commerce.

Over three days, we visited local businesses, speaking to business leaders about their journey toward regenerative tourism, the vital role arts and culture plays in our towns, and discussed housing, transport and economic diversification.

What stood out to me was that although Queenstown and Aspen face similar challenges, we have our own unique strengths, and there’s a significant opportunity to keep learning from each other so tourism adds value economically, culturally, socially and environmentally.

Aspen is making great progress with managing visitation and peak travel periods. They have an impressive public transport system funded in part from visitor levies. To improve issues with housing, they’ve introduced criteria so short-term rental properties are managed at a level that doesn’t impact housing availability for the local community.

Here in Queenstown, there is no doubt our tourism industry is leading the way in the environmental space, with the ambition for Queenstown Lakes visitor economy to be carbon zero by 2030. I felt proud to showcase our region and the environmental and social sustainability initiatives operators and our entire community are leading. While visiting businesses and tourism operators in Queenstown, Arrowtown, Glenorchy, Bob’s Peak and Walter Peak, we shared the concept of whakawhanaungatanga (establishing relationships) which enriched every meeting and encouraged deeper connections.

Debbie Braun, President and CEO at Aspen Chamber Resort Association, described the visit as eye opening, commending our focus on sustainability, tourism strategies and community engagement. Both Debbie, Aspen Mayor Torre, and their teams are excited by the fresh perspective they’ve gained and innovative ideas they can take back home.

It was just over five years ago an Aspen delegation last visited Queenstown, focusing on similar topics of housing, transport, and climate change. The opportunities and challenges have remained consistent, highlighting the importance of this long-standing partnership.

I look forward to working more with City of Aspen and Aspen Chamber Resort Association, as our region becomes a thriving community driven innovative business and regenerative tourism.