Rotorua Sustainable Tourism Charter

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Charter Member 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 and assessment fee
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 and assessment fee

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

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.

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.

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.

Click here >>> to view the Charter member statement of action for 2007

For more detailed information on becoming a Charter member:

Click here >>> to view the Charter constitution

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

The story of Rotorua

Rotorua’s story begins in the mid 1300s, when the Arawa canoe arrived at Maketu on the Bay of Plenty coastline. A young Te Arawa man, Ihenga, is said to have discovered Rotorua. He was hunting for delicacies for his pregnant wife when one of his dogs disappeared chasing a kiwi. The dog returned some time later with his coat wet and regurgitated a meal of half digested fish. Ihenga realised he was near water, so he searched until he discovered Lake Rotoiti and later, Lake Rotorua.

Local Maori have hosted visitors as far back as the 1800s, when people from all over the world came to see the Pink and White Terraces at Lake Rotomahana. Known as the eight wonder of the world because of the elaborate beauty of these natural sinter formations, the Pink and White Terraces were destroyed in 1886 when Mount Tarawera erupted.

The loss of 150 lives and devastation of the surrounding area, meant the people of the nearby villages moved away to rebuild their lives. The people of Whakarewarewa invited them to settle in the geothermal valley where they continued to host and guide visitors. Both their descendants and the people of Rotorua continue this proud tradition today by fulfilling the promise of Manaakitanga.

Manaakitanga
is the responsibility of guardianship over resources placed on the Rotorua community and an invitation to visitors to share in those resources.

Play your part in sustainability by choosing to visit Charter members. Charter members can be identified by this symbol on display at their business, on the rotoruaNZ.com website, and in the Rotorua i-SITE.