Guided mountain bike tours on the Queenstown Trails have been proposed by the Queenstown Lakes District Council.
The council has applied for resource consent for the tours, which are described as "permanent, year-round commercial bike guiding".
Tours would leave Queenstown, Arrowtown and Gibbston for trail rides "as a controlled group".
In the application, the council states there is no limit on the number of trips or groups per day, but they would "manage the scale of the activity through the licensing of operators".
A maximum of 30 people in each tour group is suggested, which is contrary to the district plan which states commercial recreational activities should be limited to five people.
Effects on the environment and other riders are said to be minor, with cyclists being on the trail at all times and taking any litter away with them.
"The application is not seeking an exclusive commercial right to use the area and accordingly the granting of this application will not preclude other commercial operators from using the trail."
Advertisement