Looking beyond limitations: Electric vehicle use in New Zealand holidays

EVs are often described as inadequate for long distance holiday trips, and yet increasing numbers of drivers are travelling on holiday in EVs. We talked to 34 New Zealand EV drivers about their experiences of taking an EV on holiday. Although participants did talk about some of the widely reported difficulties or limitations of EV travel (including range, charging, towing, and access to the backcountry), we focus here on less widely reported experiences of actual (and usually successful) holiday trips. A feeling of being adventurous or pioneering, the freedoms associated with driving an EV, and the different sensations, feelings, and driving styles involved in EV travel all feature in this engaging summary of what we found

Exploring the impacts of the Covid-19 national lockdown on outdoor recreationists' activity and perceptions of tourism

The Covid-19 pandemic had an unprecedented effect on tourism and outdoor recreation across the world in the year 2020. In New Zealand, a national lockdown for a period of 5 weeks confined New Zealanders to their local neighbourhoods and severely limited their freedoms to participate in tourism and outdoor recreation. This project aimed to investigate the impacts of the national lockdown period on outdoor recreationists’ activity and perceptions of tourism. Through 20 qualitative interviews with outdoor recreationists, it became apparent that the lockdown period had a number of impacts. These included substantial increases in walking, the emergence of adapted forms of outdoor recreation, and an overall sense of renewed appreciation for tourism and recreation in New Zealand’s great outdoors. This report discusses these findings along with some implications and directions for future research

The COVID-19 pandemic and outdoor recreation: Exploring COVID-19 induced changes in outdoor recreation engagement and behaviour in New Zealand

The first cluster of COVID-19 cases was recorded in Wuhan, China, on December 21 2019. Since then, the COVID-19 pandemic has become a significant challenge in almost every aspect of life around the globe. In an attempt to contain the spread of the pandemic, several countries, including New Zealand, have taken consequent measures such as quarantines, social distancing, travel bans, and border closures, all of which have created a de facto restriction for extended outdoor activities. The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in New Zealand was reported on February 28 2020, and was closely followed by government travel restrictions. On March 21, the Government of New Zealand announced a four-level alert system¹ and moved to Alert Level 3 on March 23 followed by a shift to Alert Level 4 at 11:59pm on March 25, a status that was maintained for a period of five weeks. For the majority of the New Zealand public, Alert Level 4 was experienced as a ‘lockdown’ during which typical work, travel and leisure activities were severely constrained. During the March-April Level 4 lockdown period, social and economic life was limited to what was possible from domestic residences, and New Zealanders were required to remain within strict household ‘bubbles’ in terms of their in-person social connections. These events have had a profound effect on individuals, families, communities, the environment and the economy, and many of these effects are still unfolding. The study reported here aimed to document how the March-April Level 4 lockdown² and COVID-19 affected New Zealanders' outdoor recreation participation and experience. The study explored the effects of COVID-19 on outdoor recreation participation in three main time-periods: (1) a 12 month period prior to the pandemic; (2) the five week period of Level 4 lockdown; and (3) after the Level 4 lockdown ended