About Us

The Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter is a grassroots approach to sustainability that has been collectively developed by the membership. In contrast to standards based programmes the philosophy of the Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter is that any change is better than none and therefore encourages a wide membership with varying levels of sustainability.

All Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter members commit to:

  • Conserving all natural and human environments;
  • Promoting efficient use of resources;
  • Ensuring the well-being of the local community and tangata whenua (people of the land);
  • Complying with legislation;
  • Providing a safe, enjoyable and informative experience for visitors

At least once every five years Charter member businesses undergo a sustainability assessment and receive a list of improvements the business can consider. Members submit an annual Statement of Action listing the sustainability actions implemented within the business over the previous twelve months.

Click here >>> to view the Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter constitution
Click here >>> to view the Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter Inc. rules

Membership Criteria

There are five key actions a potential member needs to complete to become a member of the Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter. These are:

  1. Pay the membership subscription
  2. Complete a Preliminary Sustainability Assessment (PSA)
  3. Receive a site visit from the Sustainability Assessor
  4. Receive an Assessment Report
  5. Record implemented actions in an annual Statement of Action (SOA)

Pay the membership subscription

The membership subscription is scaled based on the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) employees within the organisation as follows:

  • $200 plus GST for organisations with 1-10 FTEs
  • $400 plus GST for organisations with 11-20 FTEs
  • $600 plus GST for organisations with 21+ FTEs

Complete a Preliminary Sustainability Assessment (PSA)

The Preliminary Sustainability Assessment (PSA) is a self completed assessment. Its purpose is to obtain an overview of sustainability issues that apply to your business. It can be completed by the organisation’s owner/manager or the owner/manager can complete it with some or all of the staff (depending on the size of the organisation). As the PSA is a form of brainstorming, there is value in involving other staff in the process of completing the PSA.

Receive a site visit from the Sustainability Assessor

A site visit is set at a date and time convenient to you. The purpose of the site visit is for the Assessor to get an in-depth look at your organisation and its operations and to identify further sustainability risks and opportunities to those identified by you through the PSA.

Receive an Assessment Report

Following the site visit the Assessor will prepare an Assessment Report. The purpose of this report is to provide you with a long term sustainability plan. The report lists actions that have already been implemented by your organisation and actions your organisation can consider for implementation in future Statements of Intent.

The assessment fee is on a user pays basis charged at $54 per hour plus GST and covers the Assessor’s time for completing a site visit, preparation of assessment report and completion of a Statment of Action audit. Members are required to have the Assessor undertake a site visit and prepare an assessment report during their first year of membership and then at least once every five years thereafter. The Assessor will also undertake a Statement of Action audit on a user pays basis every second year. An estimate of the cost of these activities will be supplied by the Assessor upon request before work is commenced.

Record implemented actions in an annual Statement of Action (SOA)

A SOA is a list of actions chosen by you from the list of proposed actions in the Assessment Report, which have been implemented over the past year.

Contact Us:

Eldad Collins
Tourism Planner
APR Consultants
Ph. + 64 7 349 8325
eldad.collins@apr.co.nz