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Tourism at the Glaciers

Purdie, H.
Wilson, Judith
Espiner, Stephen R.
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Extension Activity
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Abstract
This presentation is the result of collaboration between researchers from the University of Canterbury and Lincoln University, bringing together our respective interests in the physical changes occurring at the Westland Glaciers and the consequential social effects - especially those related to the perceptions of visitors to the region. The recent changes at Fox and Franz Josef are evident to those who live and work here, and to those who have monitored these features over time. One of the aspects we wanted to explore is how aware visitors might be of changes, how their expectations about the glaciers matched their experiences, and how critical the glaciers themselves were to the ‘value’ of the Westland National Park experience. In addressing these sorts of questions, alongside improving our understanding of the physical conditions, the intention is to add to a database of information that can be used by those who live and work here, to make informed decisions about future delivery of the tourism experience. This on-going work is aligned to international studies of tourism in glacier environments – such as that in Athabasca Glacier, Jasper National Park – also experiencing environmental change.