Kia Ora! (hi in Maori).
After a long 24 hour journey from Tampa, FL to Auckland, New Zealand, I’m finally getting accustomed to the time difference. which is a little more than a day ahead. After taking a couple of days to get acclimated and figure out the bus system and where to get food, I began my four weeks at the New Zealand Tourism Reasearch Institute. NZTRI is affiliated with Auckland University of Technology and they work on several projects related to sustainable tourism such as ecotourism and Maori tourism.
I was immediately placed in a research group that is working on gauging visitor interest to the island of Motutapu. Currently, Motutapu is closed for visitor exploration, but Auckland Tourism Events and Economic Development (ATEED) is interested in finding out if people would be interested in taking part in a “3 day island journey experience” on Motutapu, which will be a 3 day walking experience around the island. The adjacent island, Rangitoto, is open to visitors, so a few people surveyed have expressed concern for preserving Motutapu’s pristine condition. The results of the survey will help ATEED decide whether or not to open Motutapu for visitor exploration.