Jean Malpas Community Nursery Volunteers, Whakatipu Reforestation Trust
Social responsibility resources
Communities are the living heart of our district. By understanding and respecting everyone’s unique perspectives and values we can be more informed, make better business decisions, and ensure everyone is responsible for our regenerative future.
New Zealand is a special place, and everyone who lives and travels here has a responsibility to look after it. The Tiaki Promise is a commitment to care for New Zealand while travelling. In Queenstown and Wānaka, that includes looking after our mountains, lakes and rivers, driving with care and to the conditions, and respecting everyone you meet, visitor or local.
Tiaki is for all travellers to embrace, both domestic and international. The national agencies that developed Tiaki have worked to make sure visitors on their way to New Zealand start to hear about Tiaki before they arrive, with Air New Zealand showing the Tiaki video to passengers on some international flights.
How can Destination Queenstown & Lake Wānaka Tourism Members get involved?
We encourage members to incorporate the Tiaki Promise into their business and service to guests, to ensure that visitors receive consistent information and embrace it for themselves on their journey around our beautiful place.
To start with, having the Tiaki assets printed for use in your shopfront will ensure that Tiaki is visible to visitors and locals alike.
Then you can consider other ways to use Tiaki messages in your operation, whether it's during your safety briefing, greeting customers, when they're signing health and safety documents, and gently reminding customers of the expectations of Tiaki when they leave your care.
You can also show your support for Tiaki – Care for New Zealand in the digital world by using the #tiakipromise hashtag, and encouraging your customers to declare their support too.
This page provides further information on the process you can take.
Tiaki Promise collateral and toolkit
A range of Tiaki Promise materials are available free of charge in Tourism New Zealand's Visual Library. The resources are currently available in English, Te Reo Māori, German and Chinese, and will be available in more languages soon.
The Tiaki toolkit provides information and practical, ready-to-use resources such as logos, videos, scripts, and templates.
More information about the Tiaki Promise
For more information about the Tiaki Promise, visit the official website.
Grow Tourism offer a course to help businesses gain a deeper understanding of Tiaki in action and help apply this knowledge into your specific role while empowering others to do the same.
If you want to read more about visitor behaviour and the environment, Tiaki partners completed this research to inform decisions around developing Tiaki.
Emergency Preparedness
Be ready before disaster strikes. Emergency planning and business continuity is vital in the Queenstown Lakes district to be prepared and resilient in the event the district is required to shelter in place for an extended period of time, including our visitors.
The resources below support Queenstown and Wānaka businesses to prepare for natural hazards such as the AF8 earthquake/other earthquakes, landslides, lake tsunami, seiche event, wildfire, and prolonged infrastructure disruption. Understand how to look after your guests and staff - the way we respond will shape how our visitors remember Queenstown Lakes.
Emergency response plan
An emergency response plan (ERP) focuses on immediate safety and stabilisation during a crisis. An ERP should include evacuation routes, shelter in place, emergency communication, supplies, first aid and key contacts. This should be accessible for all your staff to find and follow. An ERP should be tested regularly so staff know what to do during an emergency.
A business continuity plan (BCP) ensures critical functions continue during and after the disruption, focusing on long-term operations and recovery. A BCP includes staff availability, delegation of authority, communication strategies, visitor welfare considerations, relocation options, essential supplies, equipment and back up arrangements.
Visitors may be unfamiliar with local hazards, emergency procedures and available support. Businesses should consider how they will communicate with visitors, account for guests, provide accurate information, and support people who may be unable to leave the district following a major event.
Include visitor welfare considerations in your emergency response and business continuity planning.
Back up communications and power
Following a major event, phone, internet, power and fuel supplies may be disrupted for an extended period. Businesses should consider how they will communicate with staff and visitors, access information and maintain essential operations. Back up communications and power are a core part of your business continuity plan to ensure critical functions are restored and maintained. Find below a range of options for our district.
Starlink – Backup internet options providing high-speed, low-latency internet when traditional cell and fibre networks fail due to disasters.
Summit Radio solutions – Radio and communication equipment to send and receive real-time critical information.
EcoFlow – Alternate portable power solutions to power light, run medical devices, charge radios and phones etc
Personal workplace emergency plan for your staff
As an employer, you have a duty of care to your staff, including caring for them during and after emergencies. Start by involving your staff in identifying risks and making an emergency plan. Talk to them about what they would need to get through an emergency.
Make sure your staff have a personal workplace emergency plan so they have a process on how to get home safely and who to contact at work in an emergency. Encourage staff to have emergency supplies at home an discuss what support they may need after a disaster.
Community hubs
In the event of a disaster our district may become islands, isolated and disconnected from each other. Community Response Groups and community hubs may be activated following an emergency to help share information, coordinate support and connect people with local resources. Find out more about your community hub about how your business can support with essential resources.
