Major environmental & sustainability issues and challenges affecting aukland nz as a tourism destination

Major environmental & sustainability issues and challenges affecting Aukland, NZ city as tourism destination
Introduction
The phenomena of globalization has narrowed the frontiers of the countries taking along with it all the human activities. The social spheres, environmental, economical and political, have been evolving into a complex context in which local and national issues depend andimpact on an international scale and vice-versa. The service industry has taken a elemental role in this evolution. Within it, the travel and hospitality sectors have become profitable, key activities that contribute to a positive performance and growth of the globalized system. The Tourism 2020 Vision document, made by the same international institution, forecasts that the international travel mayreach nearly 1.6 billion arrivals by the year 2020, 1.2 billion being intraregional and 378 million long-haul travelers. The receiving regions will be, in order of importance: Europe (717 million tourists), East Asia and the Pacific (397 million) and the Americas (282 million). The tourism industry have been forced by these trends to develop several strategies in order to expand themselves,increase their market share and revenues, implementing them from diverse fronts, addressing some of the most relevant issues like the sustainable management of their resources, activities and marketing strategies. This paper aims to identify and describe the major issues and challenges in terms of sustainability and environmental conservation the Auckland city in New Zealand is facing and that may affectdirectly into its tourism industry.

New Zealand is an island located in the Pacific Ocean, considered Oceania continent close to East Asia region, with a land area of 268,021 square kilometers. New Zealand has a modern developed market economy ranked 5th in the 2011 UN Human Development Index. Forbes ranked this country as the 3th Best Country to do Business, 2nd by the World Bank and showsthe city of Auckland in the 10th place in the top ten ideal cities in the 2011 EIU Liability Rankings. Government strategies and guidelines include the tourism industry as one of their primary industries to develop, aware of their enormous natural potential and aiming all sectors into sustainability and corporate social responsibility. The Tourism Industry is highly and effectively organized inprivate associations and public councils such as the: Tourism Industry Association, The Inbound Tourism Operators Council, The NZ Hotel Council, Motel Association, Travel Agents Association, Bus and Coach Association, the Hospitality Association, among others. According to the official statistics portrayed by the government website this industry supports 91,900 direct and some 87,900 indirectfull-time equivalent jobs representing 9.3% of the total workforce in New Zealand. In terms of arrivals, the Ministry of Economic Development official figures show that New Zealand welcomed more than 2.6 million visitors in 2011, an increase of 3% on the previous year. These figures also show that the primary sources for visitor arrivals were Australia (1,156,426) and the UK (230,316), followed by the US(184,714), China (145,524), Japan (68,963), Germany (63,719), South Korea (52,787) and Canada (49,154). Identified key markets for holiday are Australia, UK and U.S.A, for business proposes are U.S.A, Australia and China; for visiting relatives Australia and UK. Educational, medical and congresses are among the main reason for business travel classification. Cities with mayor touristic activityand hotel occupancy rates are Auckland and Wellington with a 40-67% occupancy rate depending on the season, followed by Otago and West Coast.

Auckland:
Auckland city is the largest and most populated urban area in the country, located in the North Island of New Zealand. According to the City Council statistics the last census showed the total population is 1,303, 068 inhabitants and this...