Carrying capacity of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing
Introduction
DOC and Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro have been exploring limits for sustainable management of the Tongariro Alpine Crossing.The Tongariro Alpine Crossing (TAC) sits in the dual world heritage Tongariro National Park. It is recognised for its important Māori cultural and spiritual associations as well as its outstanding volcanic features.
Over the past 20 years, there has been a steady increase of visitor numbers. This is putting consistent pressure on the conservation and cultural values of the area, as well as the infrastructure. Under the Tongariro National Park Management Plan, DOC is directed to monitor and determine carrying capacity for the TAC, and work with concessionaires to implement changes.
Carrying capacity in this context is the maximum use that a recreation experience can sustain before impacts on the wellbeing of people and place become unacceptable or unmanageable.
The method used to determine carrying capacity
The number of visitors to the TAC has a range of different impacts on the region and community. New Zealand Treasury’s Living Standards Framework captures many of the things that matter for New Zealanders’ wellbeing, now and into the future.
Applying this approach, we commissioned four reports to understand the potential environmental, social, cultural, and economic impacts of potentially capping daily bookings for walking the TAC.
Independent consultants Third Bearing were engaged to review the four impact reports and relevant available data, including information from the booking system introduced in 2023/24.
We asked them to identify a carrying capacity for the TAC and make recommendations about a potential cap on bookings. DOC has engaged widely with stakeholders to gather their feedback on the recommendations in the final report.
Tongariro Alpine Crossing carrying capacity report (PDF, 2,526K)
Capacity carrying report summary
It is too soon to implement a cap on bookings for the coming season 2024/25. Because:
- Current management seems to be working at the existing popularity of the TAC.
- Some newer interventions still need time to bed in before we can assess their effectiveness.
- There is potential to do more targeted management of some impacts.
- We need to build more evidence to support any future booking cap.
- This should be reviewed annually.
Rather than an average daily limit, from a management of problems perspective, we should focus on:
- The annual level of use – this is more relevant for problems like the costs of track maintenance and biodiversity risks.
- A rolling 5-day average – this is because pressure on our ability to welcome and care for visitors and maintain clean toilets is greater if sustained day after day.
- We should focus on ways to monitor and respond to these pressures proactively, and messaging to visitors and stakeholders to reduce the likelihood of pressure on peak days.
- We should also focus on how, as a community, we can move to a higher value experience over the next few years.
- Wider sources of funding for interventions should be explored.
The report recommended that under current settings limits would need to be considered when:
- annual visitor activity on the TAC exceeds 155,000, and/or
- more than five days above 2,000, and/or
- any rolling five-day average exceeds 1,500.
This assumes no extra capital investment or increased biodiversity risk.
Any extra infrastructure (for example: toilets) would need to be consistent with the Tongariro National Park Plan and World Heritage guidelines.
Next steps
There will be no cap on bookings for the TAC in the 2024/25 season.
The findings of the report will be used to develop a framework to manage visitor impacts and pressure.
We will continue to monitor visitor numbers and impacts, which will enable us to respond to any changing demands or new issues. This could include a future cap on bookings or other interventions depending on the challenges at the time.
