Resumen de Research note:Optimizing economic returns from protected area tourism - tourism-related income and expenditure trends of the Department of Conservation, New Zealand
Increasing visitor numbers have been identified as a contributor to the financial stress experienced by many protected area management agencies. This research note reports on a study of the income and expenditure of the Department of Conservation in New Zealand the country-s protected area manager and arguably its largest tourist operator. Income and expenditure data are analysed in relation to visitation to protected areas in New Zealand for the ten-year period 1992-2002. The findings reveal that income from tourism-related sources is very low, despite the increasing volumes of visitors. An argument is presented for enhancing visitor-sourced income, particularly from international visitors.
