Queenstown Lakes District Council has announced its plans to promote responsible and sustainable camping across the district this summer but it will not include overnight camping hubs.
General manager community services Thunes Cloete said lessons learned last season were factored into the plan following "robust discussions" with commercial operators and feedback received from campers, ambassadors manning service hubs in 2018, and the community.
"We were always clear the 2018 initiatives were trials, and that we wanted to remain flexible enough to alter our approach if required," Dr Cloete said.
Some had felt that allowing campers to stay in service hubs overnight had provided unnecessary competition for the district's existing campgrounds, he said.
"As a result, QLDC will not be implementing overnight camping hubs for the 2019 summer season," he said.
Instead, from November 10 through to April 26, the council will be providing two "service hubs" for day use in both Queenstown and Wanaka at locations yet to be finalised.
Both hubs will provide temporary toilets and showers, rubbish and recycling disposal and Wi-Fi, and have a maximum stay of two hours.
There will be donation facilities at both hubs with proceeds going to assist an environmental and/or ecological project in both towns.
Council parks service delivery manager Clare Tomkins said there would be more monitoring and education efforts across the district as well as a review of the freedom camping bylaw this year.
"Simply put, we'll have more boots on the ground helping to support responsible camping, covering a greater area than we've been able to previously."
This would include Department of Conservation areas such as the Crown Range, she said.
Other initiatives included signage at known hot spots no longer deemed appropriate for camping, real-time maps and updates through a joint venture with Campermate (New Zealand's most widely used free app for information to campers), and support from the motorhome industry.
Ms Tomkins said more than 14,600 self-contained vehicles visited service hubs last year between November and March, and ambassadors surveyed more than 30,000 people across the district.
"We know that most campers want to do the right thing, and by providing more ambassadors and better education, we're positive our community will continue to see a greater level of people camping responsibly," she said.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment has given the Queenstown Lakes District Council $788,000 funding towards its responsible camping initiatives.
