New Zealand to spend millions weaning holiday towns off international tourism

Tourism minister says overcrowded sites such as Milford Sound-Piopiotahi cannot return to its pre-Covid state'

The days of allowing tourist hordes to some of New Zealand's best-known natural attractions are over, the government has signalled, as it unveiled new plans to protect the environment and reconsider the role of tourism in its economy.

The tourism minister, Stuart Nash, outlined on Tuesday plans to reset" tourism for a post-Covid world - planning for fewer international visitors and attempting to diversify the economies of tourism-dependent towns.