Joseph Gray: Exploring how international visitors perceive the sustainability of transport at Milford Sound & the role of COVID-19 in reimagining travel at the site.

Joseph Gray, BA Geography, joins us to discuss his research project 'Exploring how international visitors perceive the sustainability of transport at Milford Sound & the role of COVID-19 in reimagining travel at the site.' Abstract: Environmental sustainability contradictions are at the heart of national park tourism. Increased transport accessibility allows tourists to experience the natural character but causes environmental degradation. COVID-19 was an unprecedented moment that catalysed a rethink of tourism transport, as reduced tourism activity saw the renaissance of the natural environment. This study used Milford Sound to explore the overlooked perspectives of international visitors. The study’s inquiry aimed to understand their engagement with transport, their perception of environmental sustainability, and their vision of tourism transport post-COVID-19. Inspired by the researcher’s visit, the research adopted a qualitative methodology. It took a novel approach, supplementing semi-structured interviews with photo-elicitation and a reflective visual autoethnography to deeply understand participants' lived experiences at Milford Sound, with the data combined for thematic analysis. The study uncovered participants’ complex perceptions of environmental sustainability, and they supported new transport policies post-COVID-19 to safeguard the site's long-term natural integrity. Milford Sound requires participatory transport policymaking that combines visitor preferences and overcomes structural barriers at the site. The study's outcomes appeal to audiences concerned with sustainable tourism transport and national park policymakers, where fresh insights from international visitors can resolve the current policy deadlock plaguing the industry’s environmental sustainability ambitions post-COVID-19. Section of my Introduction: Increasing international tourism is contributing to tourism’s growing contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions, which recently stood at 8% (Lenzen et al., 2018). Under current trajectories, carbon dioxide emissions from tourism transport will rise 25% by 2030 compared with 2016 (UNWTO and ITF, 2019). Therefore, it is a significant obstacle in achieving tourism’s 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, especially goal 13, ‘Climate Action’ (UNWTO, n.d.). National Park tourism destinations are both climate change contributors and victims through transport. In New Zealand, transport accounts for 90% of the overall carbon footprint of tourism (Tourism Industry Aotearoa, 2023), 18% higher than the global average (Peeters and Dubois, 2010). Episode guest: Joseph Gray, BA Geography Episode host: Prof Simon Kemp Episode editor: Ellie Howell