Speaking at Destination Queenstown's quarterly update last Friday, Mr Kennedy said he was still looking for effective ways local tourist businesses could mitigate their carbon footprint and market that point of difference to increasingly carbon-conscious travellers.
His message came close behind claims by celebrity British chef Gordon Ramsay that he planned to go green in his restaurants and only use local, not imported, products, highlighting the carbon footprint issue.
Mr Kennedy told Otago Daily Times that although he realised mitigating carbon footprints was a complex issue, he said businesses needed to be seen to be making a difference in the market.
They recognise it is going to be a point of difference, he said, adding that it would be a negative point of difference if they didn't do anything about it.
"I think increasingly what will happen is travel consumers will have an expectation that destinations are making an effort because no-one wants that carbon guilt when they're standing around the water cooler back at work talking about their holiday," he said.
He said it did not mean no-one was going to travel again because of their carbon footprint, "but we do need to be seen to be making an effort - it's about making a difference".
Rather than come up with a one-stop carbon clean solution for Queenstown businesses, he said they needed to look for mitigation they could appropriately align with their businesses and promote under the Destination Queenstown banner.
But Queenstown Nomad Safari four-wheel-drive adventure tourist operator David Gatward-Ferguson said a lot of schemes promoted as carbon-neutralising or mitigating were unrealistic or unaffordable.
He supported the idea of reducing carbon footprints, but in a genuine, realistic rather than token, way.
"The best environmental tourist is the one that stays at home and has not gone on holiday, so we're looking for genuine ways that brings down the real carbon usage," he said.
