Abel Tasman Kayaks: Sustainable Tourism Practices

This report provides an overview of Abel Tasman Kayaks, the first sea kayaking company in the Abel Tasman National Park. It discusses the concept of sustainability and the sustainable initiatives adopted by organizations in the travel and tourism industry. It also evaluates the sustainable practices of Abel Tasman Kayaks and provides recommendations for improving their sustainability efforts.

Running Head: Report
Executive Summary
Abel Tasman Kayaks is a 32-year-old organization established by Tom and Ingrid Horne. It
is the first sea kayaking company established in the Abel Tasman National Park. This report
presents an overview of the organization Abel Tasman Soul Ltd which is a kayaking
company operating in New Zealand. It presents a review of the concept of sustainability and
the various sustainable initiatives adopted by organizations operating in the travel and
tourism industry as a result of the New Zealand tourism sustainability commitment. This
commitment is discussed in detail by carrying out a critical evaluation of the current
sustainability approaches and by stating the benefits and problems associated with the
adoption of these initiatives. It also presents a critical analysis of the sustainable practices of
Abel Tasman Soul Ltd and how these can be related to the four key elements of the New
Zealand tourism sustainability commitment. It also presents recommendations with respect to
each of these key elements that help in improving the current sustainability initiatives and
tourism practices adopted by the organization. Sustainable operation of the travel and tourism
organizations requires taking conscious measures and steps that are guided by maintaining
the quality of life of the local community and only taking from the environment what is
needed with the responsibility leaving behind what would contribute to the sustainability of
the destination and for the future travelers. The recommendations for Abel Tasman Kayaks to
embrace sustainability and to improve their efforts that are targeted towards fulfilling the
New Zealand tourism sustainability commitment are going to help the organization in
demonstrating sincerity and dedication towards sustainable development initiatives.
1

Running Head: Report
Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................................................................1
Organization overview...............................................................................................................3
Literature review........................................................................................................................4
Background concept of sustainability....................................................................................4
Sustainable initiatives of the New Zealand Tourism Sustainability Commitment.................6
Critical evaluation of sustainability approaches.....................................................................8
Integrating sustainability to business practices......................................................................9
Sustainable practices of the organization.................................................................................12
Economic sustainability........................................................................................................13
Visitor sustainability.............................................................................................................13
Host community sustainability.............................................................................................13
Environmental sustainability................................................................................................13
Conclusion................................................................................................................................14
Recommendations....................................................................................................................16
References................................................................................................................................18
2

Running Head: Report
Organization overview
Abel Tasman Kayaks is a 32-year-old organization established by Tom and Ingrid Horne
with the help of an old truck and some borrowed river kayaks. It is the first sea kayaking
company established in the Abel Tasman National Park. The Abel Tasman Kayaks has now
become one of the premier tourist experience offered at New Zealand running with more than
150 double and single kayaks and a home base located at Marahau. The organization has
dozens of guides working for it offering their knowledge, guidance and expertise to the
customers with a combined experience of more than 225 years and they have a customer base
of thousands of happy customers who have visited the Abel Tasman Kayaks since its
Inception. The organization believes that sea kayaking helps the people in exploring the
beautiful beaches, lagoons and coves throughout the National Park and also provides them
with an opportunity to explore the Offshore Islands, native forest and the wildlife of the
granite coastline scattered across the region. Abel Tasman Kayaks allows the customers to
get the kayaking experience and return transport from Nelson or Motueka with an onsite
container that is used for solving snacks, coffee and breakfast to them. The water taxi
services offered by Abel Tasman Kayaks starts as soon as the customers are on-board. The
organization practices very high safety standards for providing these services. Over the
course of their operations, Abel Tasman Kayaks have gained expertise and knowledge about
the extensive local environment of the park and the only offer services that do not disturb its
serenity and balance (Abel Tasman Kayaks, 2019).
3

Running Head: Report
Literature review
Background concept of sustainability
Sustainable development is defined as the development that allows the organizations and
individuals to meet their present needs without compromising or impacting the ability of
future generations to meet their needs as well. The term sustainable development has gained a
lot of popularity in recent years as it helps in tying together the concerns of the people
towards the carrying capacity of the natural systems throughout the world and impacts the
social challenges and changes handmade on it. Sustainable development primarily comprises
of:
 Environmental sustainability
 Economic sustainability
 Socio-political sustainability
These 3 concepts of sustainability act as the pillars that help in providing a clear definition of
the problem of Sustainable development and provide parameters for analyzing the system and
practices of sustainable development. Understanding each of these individually, social
sustainability is defined as the ability of a social system to operate in harmony in an indefinite
4

Running Head: Report
manner by attaining a level of social well being. The social system of organizations, families,
cities, countries and regions open face issues related to injustice, low education and
development, poverty, hunger, war and various other challenges that are actually defined as
the symptoms of an unsustainable society or social system. The environmental sustainability
can be defined as the ability of the natural environment to extend support at a defined level
by maintaining the quality of the environment and by defining the rate of extraction of the
natural resources from it. Environmental sustainability is the biggest challenge faced by the
world and is on a very high priority because of the visible impacts of the lack of sustainability
in this area like global warming and climate change (Mason, 2019). Economic sustainability
can be defined as the ability of an economy to extend support by maintaining the level of
economic production for indefinite periods fulfilling the needs of the population. This has
also become a challenge as it is dependent on the environmental sustainability.
Sustainability means making use of the methods, materials and systems that do not result in
the depletion of resources or have a negative impact on the natural cycles of the environment.
It is a concept and attitude that is still under development providing an opportunity to
integrate the various different aspects of development with the natural systems with the help
of the patterns practiced by the human beings for ensuring continuity in the long run.
Sustainability influences the working of the organization at every level and while most of the
people are only able to associate it with the environmental aspect, it is a multifaceted social
that is also dependent on the society and the economy (Stofleth, 2016). Sustainability is
intended to offer a means for configuring human activity so that the people are able to
achieve their greatest potential and meet their current needs by taking steps towards the
preservation of the natural ecosystems and biodiversity. It also requires taking actions and
planning to maintain these ideas for an indefinite period. The idea that is central to the
concept of sustainability is that the economic, environmental and social objectives of the
5

Running Head: Report
society and the people living in it should be in harmony and all these processes are
interdependent when it comes to the process of development. This interdependence acts as an
imperative step that allows the society to move forward and adopt the development thinking
(NWU, 2016).
(Stofleth, 2016)
(Mason, 2019)
Sustainable initiatives of the New Zealand Tourism Sustainability Commitment
The New Zealand Tourism Sustainability Commitment is a pledge taken by the committee to
ensure that every tourism business operating in New Zealand is committed to achieving
sustainability by the year 2025. The long-term vision of this commitment is to serve as a
leader throughout the world when it comes to Sustainable Tourism and in order to deliver
this, The New Zealand Tourism has set ambitious goals for the economic performance of the
industry so that the benefits of this initiative can be extended to the host communities and can
also help in the restoration, protection and enhancement of the natural environment of New
Zealand. The initiative by New Zealand tourism for embracing sustainability is directed
towards providing the domestic and international tourists with a high-quality destination for
travelling. The New Zealand tourism industry is inviting all the organizations operating in the
travels, tourism and hospitality industry in New Zealand to join them in this inspirational
journey towards sustainability and by adopting the 14 commitments that are allowed in the
organizations to take steps towards the achievement of these goals.
The New Zealand tourism industry believes that the natural environment of the country is the
key attraction that draws visitors and is also a significant driver for the people from New
Zealand to travel domestically. The organization enjoy the privilege of making use of these
6

Running Head: Report
natural resources for the purpose of running travel and tourism business however, it is also
their duty to do this in a responsible manner. Therefore, the New Zealand tourism
sustainability commitment is based on the 'duty of care' that the industry holds towards the
natural resources and the environment. The focus of this commitment is on increasing the
education and awareness of the visitors and the various communities of New Zealand towards
this responsibility and take actions that ensure that the natural resources of the country are
sustained for the future generations as well. The four industry goals of economic
sustainability, visitor sustainability, host community sustainability and environmental
sustainability are driven by the sustainability commitment by the New Zealand tourism
industry. These four goals are further emphasized by the 14 commitments presented in the
document including the commitment to run the business organization sustainability,
commitment of sustainable capital investment, productivity commitment, the commitment to
ensure visitor satisfaction, commitment towards the development of the products and the
markets for the industry, commitment to engage with the visitors, the commitment towards
sustainable employment and fair wages for all the staff, commitment to constantly work
towards quality employment, commitment of active engagement with the communities,
developing socially and environmentally sustainable supply chains, commitment towards
running ecological restoration initiatives, business commitment for carbon reduction
programs to drive carbon neutrality, commitment to reduce and better manage the waste
produced by the industry and the commitment to actively engage with the communities are
the visitors for educating them and communicating the importance of the restoration,
protection and embracing of the natural environment of New Zealand (NZ Tourism, 2019).
7

Running Head: Report
Critical evaluation of sustainability approaches
The organizations operating in the hospitality and tourism industry in New Zealand are
committed to embracing sustainability in theory and practice. The tourism industry of New
Zealand is a $39 billion industry. The ambitious vision of the industry to become a world
leader in terms of sustainability in tourism by the year 2025 is the one that is driving all the
operations and initiatives of the industry at present. All the tourism business is operating
across New Zealand having strong financial prospects are committed to providing support to
the communities and decreasing their carbon footprint while ensuring that the visitors are
delivered a quality experience of their travel (TIA, 2019).
The Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) is an independent Association that is responsible for
taking care of the diverse factors that constitute the large and diverse tourism industry of New
Zealand. TIA is specifically working towards driving sustainability in the industry and
shaping tourism for the benefit of the people. TIA is maintaining a dashboard for the
measurement of the industry performance in terms of sustainability since New Zealand
launched the tourism sustainability commitment in the year 2017. For the first year, the
overall sustainability rating according to this dashboard increase for New Zealand from 8.0 to
8.1. This is a small incremental lift in the performance of the industry and together they are
working towards achieving the goal of a 9.4 rating and increased sustainability in the industry
by the year 2025 (Craig, 2019). This annual dashboard is used as a long term mechanism for
tracking the progress and identifying the trends of the initiative taken by the organizations in
this direction. According to the dashboard, over 95% of the tourists visiting New Zealand
state that their expectations have been met and even exceeded from the services received. The
TIA is working towards minimizing the waste produced by the industry and reduced the
carbon emissions however this continues to be the biggest challenge for them as it is difficult
8

Running Head: Report
to keep track of the numerous small and medium-sized business organizations that constitute
the tourism industry in New Zealand (Whakapakari, 2018).
Integrating sustainability to business practices
The process of integrating the sustainability initiatives in the business practices of the
organizations operating in the travel and tourism industry of New Zealand is a welcome
move. However, there are unique challenges and opportunities that come with these
initiatives that are being faced by the organization as they decide to develop and implement
the strategies promoting Sustainable Tourism and business practices.
Sustainability in the tourism industry has numerous advantages for the organization adopting
the initiatives, the community and the environment at large. Sustainability in tourism
promotes the concept of the tourists visiting our natural environment and living with a
positive impact on the location, the economy and society (Aslam, 2012). For embracing
sustainability, it is important that the tourists do not participate in any activity that results in
exploiting the local culture, community or environment or cause any harm to them.
Sustainability in tourism benefits the local community by offering them employment and also
by ensuring that their practices and environment remains untouched. The local community
can stay profitable for a long time by promoting sustainability in tourism and it also
minimizes the negative impact and disturbance caused by the tourist activities in the area.
Another benefit of embracing flexibility when attempting the implementation of sustainable
tourism strategies and business practices in New Zealand is that it reduces the cost and
consumption of providing the services contributing to a reduction in the carbon footprint and
the carbon emissions due to the travel and tourism activities carried out by the organizations.
It helps in creating positive energy that contributes to innovation in the business environment
9

Running Head: Report
and helps in adding value to the local environment, nature and community which is the win-
win situation for all.
Human beings are inherently wired to oppose any change happening around them and same
goes for the organizations willing to embrace the new initiatives for operating system tablet
the motivation for bringing about this change is not universal and the business managers also
understand that introducing any innovations would require a long time, effort and capital. It
would contribute to disrupting the present organizational climate and processes and even
challenge the attitudes, beliefs and values of the organization and individuals (Day, 2012).
The environmental issues faced by the business organizations are different from the corporate
values and therefore, adoption of sustainability practices is left to the personal beliefs of the
managers and the decision makers of the organizations operating in the tourism industry of
New Zealand. Unsupportive management can limit the ability of the organization to embrace
sustainability and take steps towards this practice is. Therefore, the reluctance to change and
lack of management support acts as a problem that make the process of implementing the
strategies of the sustainable tourism complex for the organizations operating in New Zealand.
The business practices that embrace sustainability in tourism are considered to be expensive
by organizations. These initiatives come with a high initial cost that acts as the biggest
deterrent for the organizations. The government policies increase the cost and the expenses of
implementing sustainability and it requires establishing guidelines that are in line with natural
resource sustainability and according to the local community (Scheyvens, 2011). Acquiring a
certificate from the government involves powers of bureaucracy and also requires the
organization to have a well-built financial structure so that they are able to follow the
obligations imposed by this procedure. The tourism industry of New Zealand has a lot of
competition and most of the organizations are working towards maximizing their profit and
sales at any cost. Because of this, the significance of adopting practices that are socially and
10

Running Head: Report
environmentally friendly and responsible is not on priority for the organization. The
companies are also constantly trying to sustain their income while coming up with yield
management schemes. This has resulted in the organizations focusing on profit that
immediately on from the customer instead of the long-term strategies of sustainability.
11

Running Head: Report
Sustainable practices of the organization
Abel Tasman Kayaks operates in the Abel Tasman National Park that has a marvelous
coastline that has maintained its beauty for the various centuries. Abel Tasman Kayaks is
constantly working towards maintaining the natural balance of the National Park by guiding
its soul. The customers availing the kayaking services of the organization are inspired by
their sustainability initiatives and the reverence that the organization holds for the natural
settings in which they operate (Welford & Ytterhus, 2009). Abel Tasman Soul Ltd has an
approved label from the Department of Conservation of New Zealand. This label symbolizes
that the recreational businesses and tourism organizations are contributing to the conservation
initiatives across New Zealand and also highlights the organization regularly face the sea for
supporting conservation to the DOC. DOC is a measure of the efficient safety standards
adopted by the organization audited by independent auditor allowing the organizations to
operate in the public conservation areas across the country. Abel Tasman Kayaks has the
concession label from DOC and permit from the DOC Marine Mammal Watching. This
allows the organizations to take their visitors into the national park for visiting the NZ Fur
Seal Colony while maintaining the sustainability and conservation guidelines (Glyptou &
Paravantis, 2014). The four key elements of the New Zealand tourism sustainability
commitment are:
 Economic sustainability
 Visitor sustainability
 Host community sustainability
 Environmental sustainability
12

Running Head: Report
Abel Tasman Kayaks has adopted various business commitments under each of these
elements as highlighted in the TIA sustainable Tourism plan. These commitments are
discussed in this section of the report.
Economic sustainability
The organization promotes the use of locally made and sustainable products contributing to
the economic well-being and fulfilling the sustainable business commitment. The golas set by
the organization for promoting sustainability include:
They regularly review the current business practices for identifying the areas where they can
improve the business and make a greater capital investment by enhancing the productivity
and quality of services delivered by them (Kneževic, 2013). The community activities
conducted by the organization in the area are presented below.
13

Running Head: Report
Visitor sustainability
The organization ensures very high visitor satisfaction by constantly monitoring, evaluating
and reporting the customer satisfaction level and encouraging the employees to improve on
the identified areas where they are falling behind (Cernat & Gourdon, 2007).
The organization informs and educates the visitors about the behavioral expectations and the
cultural diversity of the National Park ensuring that the biodiversity is protected and they are
able to offset the long-term effects of their operations. The base facilities offered by the
organization to their visitors are:
14

Running Head: Report
Host community sustainability
The host community sustainability is achieved by the organization by providing support to
their staff and by identifying their needs practicing sustainable employment. The employee
commitment of Able Tasman Kayaks is presented below.
The supply chain of the business organization is socially and environmentally sustainable
which also contributes to the sustainability of the host community of the Abel Tasman
National Park (Florek, 2012).
15

Running Head: Report
Environmental sustainability
The carbon reduction commitment of the organization is taken very seriously and they only
make use of sustainable products reducing the environmental impact of their operations.
The organization has committed to the restoration of the ecology of the National Park with
the DOC concession paying for the conservation of the biodiversity (AbelTasmanKayaks
Team, 2019).
16

Running Head: Report
Conclusion
Sustainability influences the working of the organization at every level and while most of the
people are only able to associate it with the environmental aspect, it is a multifaceted social
that is also dependent on the society and the economy. This report presents an overview of
the organization Abel Tasman Soul Ltd which is a kayaking company operating in New
Zealand. It presents a review of the concept of sustainability and the various sustainable
initiatives adopted by organizations operating in the travel and tourism industry as a result of
the New Zealand tourism sustainability commitment. This commitment is discussed in detail
by carrying out a critical evaluation of the current sustainability approaches and by stating the
benefits and problems associated with the adoption of these initiatives. It also presents a
critical analysis of the sustainable practices of Abel Tasman Soul Ltd and how these can be
related to the four key elements of the New Zealand tourism sustainability commitment. It
also presents recommendations with respect to each of these key elements that help in
improving the current sustainability initiatives and tourism practices adopted by the
organization.
Sustainability is intended to offer a means for configuring human activity so that the people
are able to achieve their greatest potential and meet their current needs by taking steps
towards the preservation of the natural ecosystems and biodiversity. It also requires taking
actions and planning to maintain these ideas for an indefinite period. Abel Tasman Soul Ltd
is committed towards the initiative of corporate sustainability as a part of the New Zealand
tourism industry. The organization is trying to emulate and adopt the 14 commitments stated
in the New Zealand tourism sustainability commitment and understand that the economy, the
environment and the society will be positively impacted by these initiatives. Abel Tasman
Kayaks operates in the Abel Tasman National Park that has a marvellous coastline that has
maintained its beauty for the various centuries. Abel Tasman Kayaks is constantly working
17

Running Head: Report
towards maintaining the natural balance of the National Park by guiding its soul. The
customers availing the kayaking services of the organization are inspired by their
sustainability initiatives and the reverence that the organization holds for the natural settings
in which they operate. The four key elements of the New Zealand tourism sustainability
commitment are: Economic sustainability, Visitor sustainability, Host community
sustainability, Environmental sustainability. Abel Tasman Soul Ltd has an approved label
from the DOC and they have adopted various business commitments under each of these
elements as highlighted in the TIA sustainable Tourism plan.
18

Running Head: Report
Recommendations
Sustainable operation of the travel and tourism organizations requires taking conscious
measures and steps that are guided by maintaining the quality of life of the local community
and only taking from the environment what is needed with the responsibility leaving behind
what would contribute to the sustainability of the destination and for the future travellers. The
recommendations for Abel Tasman Kayaks to embrace sustainability and to improve their
efforts that are targeted towards fulfilling the New Zealand tourism sustainability
commitment are:
 Economic sustainability
The organization should work towards enhancing productivity by innovating and developing
effective strategies to address the impact of the reduction in The Tourist activities in the
region because of seasonality. They can come up with alternate tourist activities for the slow
seasons to continue the inflow of the tourists (Wood, 2012).
 Visitor sustainability
The organization supports the visit of thousands of people to the National Park. They must
work towards setting up practices that reduce the human impact on the natural settings by
keeping a track of the permissible number of people who can visit and take a tour at any
given time. This will ensure that the local community and environmental setting does not get
disturbed and more people are able to enjoy the beauty and the marvel of the granite coastline
spread out across the region.
 Host community sustainability
The organization should take a pledge to contribute towards the improvement of the skills
and knowledge of their workforce so that they are able to flourish and succeed in the long run
19

Running Head: Report
contributing to the increase in the sustainability of the host community (Beeton & Pearson,
2012).
 Environmental sustainability
The organization should run programs for effective waste reduction and management for
further reducing the human impact and to contribute to the long-term sustainability of the
environment. These programs will also maintain the serenity and beauty of the area
benefiting the environment by ecological restoration (Buckley, 2012).
20

Running Head: Report
References
Abel Tasman Kayaks. (2019). About Us: Abel Tasman Kayaks. Retrieved from
www.abeltasmankayaks.co.nz: https://www.abeltasmankayaks.co.nz/about-us/
AbelTasmanKayaks Team. (2019). Our bit for the environment. Retrieved from
www.abeltasmankayaks.co.nz: https://www.abeltasmankayaks.co.nz/about-us/our-bit-
for-the-environment/
Aslam, M. (2012). Issues and Challenges in Sustainable Tourism Development in Rural
Areas. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/272170293_Issues_and_Challenges_in_Sust
ainable_Tourism_Development_in_Rural_Areas
Beeton, R., & Pearson , L. (2012). Sustainable Tourism: An Overview of the Concept and its
Position in Relation to Conceptualisations of Tourism. Journal Of Sustainable
Tourism , 10(6). Retrieved from
https://www.academia.edu/14513873/Sustainable_Tourism_An_Overview_of_the_Co
ncept_and_its_Position_in_Relation_to_Conceptualisations_of_Tourism
Buckley, R. (2012). Sustainable tourism: researchand reality. Annals of Tourism Research,
39(2), 528–546. Retrieved from
http://wordpress.reilumatkailu.fi/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/artikkeli38.pdf
Cernat, L., & Gourdon, J. (2007). Is the concept of sustainable tourism sustainable?
Retrieved from https://unctad.org/en/docs/ditctncd20065_en.pdf
Craig, T. (2019). New Zealand Tourism industry becoming more sustainable. Retrieved from
https://www.thehotelconversation.com.au/news/2019/02/27/new-zealand-tourism-
industry-becoming-more-sustainable/1551233420
21

Running Head: Report
Day, J. (2012). Challenges of Sustainable Tourism. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271098263_Challenges_of_Sustainable_To
urism
Florek, I. (2012). Sustainable Tourism Development. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236108688_Sustainable_Tourism_Develop
ment
Glyptou, K., & Paravantis, J. (2014). Tourism sustainability methodologies: A critical
assessment. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/268196329_Tourism_sustainability_method
ologies_A_critical_assessment
Kneževic, J. (2013). Expert Group Meeting for the Global Sustainable Development Report:
Tourism sustainability. Retrieved from
https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/4016Knezevic_EGM
%20Dubrovnik.pdf
Mason, M. (2019). What Is Sustainability and Why Is It Important? Retrieved from
https://www.environmentalscience.org/sustainability
NWU. (2016). A background on sustainability and sustainable development. Retrieved from
https://repository.nwu.ac.za/bitstream/handle/10394/9539/Van_Schalkwyk_BB_Chap
ter_2.pdf?sequence=3&isAllowed=y
NZ Tourism. (2019). New zealand tourism sustainability commitment. Retrieved from
https://sustainabletourism.nz/assets/Uploads/2945447c76/TIA-Sustainability-A4-One-
Pager-4.1.pdf
22

Running Head: Report
Scheyvens, R. (2011). The challenge of sustainable tourism development in the Maldives.
Asia Pacific Viewpoint, 25(2), 148-164. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/303697684_The_challenge_of_sustainable_
tourism_development_in_the_Maldives
Stofleth, D. (2016). A Short History of Sustainable Development. Retrieved from
http://rethinkingprosperity.org/a-short-history-of-sustainable-development/
TIA. (2019). About TIA: official website. Retrieved from tia.org.nz: https://tia.org.nz/about-
tia/
Welford, R., & Ytterhus, B. (2009). Tourism and Sustainable Development: An Analysis of
Policy and Guidelines for Managing Provision and Consumption. 7(4), pp. 165-177.
Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227651135_Tourism_and_Sustainable_Dev
elopment_An_Analysis_of_Policy_and_Guidelines_for_Managing_Provision_and_C
onsumption
Whakapakari, K. (2018). A sustainable growth framework: Tourism 2025 and beyond.
Retrieved from https://tia.org.nz/assets/Infograph/d5156c4126/Tourism2025-and-
Beyond.pdf
Wood, M. (2012). Ecotourism: Principles, practices & policiesfor sustainability. Retrieved
from http://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/9045/-Ecotourism_
%20%20Principles,%20Practices%20and%20Policies%20for%20Sustainability-
2002518.pdf?sequence=2
23