Fiordland & Southland

The upgrade has been slowed by supply chain issues, weather conditions, and arduous terrain.

The Department of Conservation says it is continuing cleanup work on land in Southland and Otago affected by floods last week.

State Highway 94 into Milford Sound Piopiotahi has been closed due to a high avalanche risk associated with torrential rain.

Southern Discoveries has launched a multi-language commentary app for its Queenstown to Milford Sound coach journeys.

There’s also support for a cruise ship ban but less so for removing the aerodrome.

Invercargill’s Transport World is preparing to host an insider’s journey into automotive craftmanship as part of its Back Shed tour, which returns next month.

Milford sound tourism businesses are urging operators around the country to get behind a new effort to show appreciation for healthcare workers.

Remote communities and visitors between Te Anau to Milford can now access ultrafast broadband following the successful completion of a 118km fibre haul project.

Cruise ships contributed $2.1m in marine fees to Environment Southland’s income over the 2022/23 period.

The Department of Conservation is seeking suppliers to identify ways to manage road access to Milford Sound Piopiotahi and to identify a park and ride system for the popular destination.

International visitors made up 35% of bed nights on Fiordland’s Kepler Track after the first day of bookings for the Great Walk, up from 20% last year.

Bookings for the Kepler Track Great Walk have jumped on last year.

Tourism is one of two significant opportunities identified in Great South’s Beyond 2025 Southland Regional Long Term Plan.

Southland’s Beyond 2025 regional long term plan is almost ready for launch.

Milford Sound attractions are proving to be a popular drawcard for travellers looking for their next adventure, according to new insights from Tripadvisor.

A scheme for a cable car up Bowen Falls to provide a “world-class activity” is mooted in the area’s masterplan.

The Milford Opportunities Project will hold a series of engagement sessions with businesses, the community and other stakeholders starting in May 2023.

One of the country’s most experienced tourism professionals will soon depart the Skeggs-owned group.

DOC is seeking feedback on a proposal by Tuatapere Hump Track Charitable Trust for a lease, licence and easement in the Fiordland National Park and Waikoau Forest Conservation Area.

Milford Opportunities Project chair Dr Keith Turner is retiring from the board at the end of the month after more than five years with the initiative.

Southland Museum is saying a temporary goodbye to resident tuatara Henry and his friends as they are rehomed while work gets underway on a major redevelopment project.

Fiordland and Southland are welcoming competitors for GODZONE Adventure Race, slated to begin tomorrow.

The Department of Conservation has closed Te Papanui Conservation Park near Dunedin due to the fire risk in the area, with further warnings in place for Otago, parts of Southland, and Canterbury.

Fiordland businesses are suffering at the hands of the government’s changes to the working holiday visa and skilled migrant categories, says National Party Southland MP Joseph Mooney.

Rotorua and Invercargill will host the next two Tourism Export Council of New Zealand annual conferences.

The French operator’s APAC chair urges the govt to take a practical approach and criticises proposals to cap visits to Fiordland.

More than 430 female deer have been eradicated from conservation areas around Kaikiekie/Bradshaw Sound in western Fiordland.

Business transformation professional Chris Goddard has been appointed to lead the controversial Milford Opportunities Project through its next chapter of growth.

Immigration New Zealand has received more than 103,000 applications involving 209,000 people for the 2021 Resident Visa, and of those, 37,455 have been processed.

Great South’s Summer of Work initiative is returning for 2022 and it is seeking employers to join it.

The closure begins at Hollyford Road and will remain in place all day Monday 18 July.

Invercargill is on track to be a “highly desirable city to visit and settle down in”, according to the group behind a drive to rejuvenate the city and the wider Southland region.

Police have named the man who died last month while on a day tramp near the northern end of the Milford Track.

Fixed wing aircraft may be incompatible with one of the jewels in NZ’s tourism crown, says one of DOC’s leaders.

Cruising in NZ waters has been well supported over summer but there are clouds on the horizon, say operators.

Milford Sound’s JUCY Cruise has rebranded to Pure Milford and altered its product mix for the recovery.

Southland could become a hotbed of food activity under new plans to transform the regional home of Bluff Oysters into a food tourism mecca.

The Department of Conservation’s Green Lake Hut hut in Fiordland National Park has been named a location of interest after a visit by a Covid case last weekend.

RealNZ is seeking 24 people for a Fiordland cruise that will also see them get involved in the area’s history and conservation.

Almost all visitors who went last summer say they intend to return, so what did they like?

Great South has allocated more than $550,000 this year from the government’s Regional Event Fund for events in Southland and Fiordland.

The RealNZ Cruise-for-a-Cause raised nearly $30,000 for the Deep Cove Outdoor Education Trust. 

Among the recipients of the Jobs for Nature funding is an operator who has secured $700k for a restoration project.

Milford Sound aviation operators and stakeholders have hit back at calls for the closure of the facility in a document that outlines the case to keep the runway.

The funding will create 15 full-time-equivalent staff over the length of the project, or roughly 50 part-time seasonal positions. 

New business support for tourism operators in five South Island regions can be accessed from this week, with specialist local agencies now appointed to deliver the scheme.

Great South has hired former Shotover Canyon Swing boss Stu Cordelle to lead Visit Fiordland.

Visit Fiordland and Visit Southland have formed their own international marketing alliance, to be promoted as ‘Great South’.

Great South has opened applications for round two of its Regional Events Fund

Operators line up to challenge the plan’s recommendations with aviation and cruise at the front of the queue.