Milford workers valued the area's remoteness, tranquillity and sense of community but had concerns about the village infrastructure.
The survey was commissioned by Doc and Environment Southland as part of the Fiordland Integrated Coastal Management Project to see whether those who visit the area and those who work there value Milford Sound in the same way.
The project aims to better align the way each agency manages its statutory responsibilities for the Sound.
Recreational activities were highlighted by visitors, with expectations ranging from anticipation of a boat cruise to kayaking to sightseeing.
Only a small percentage of workers' expectations were linked with recreational activities and they were more likely to mention tourists and tourism operators as part of their expectations.
Wildlife and the pristine nature of the area were of great appeal to workers, while scenery and landscape dominated visitors' reasons for going there.
Almost a quarter of workers saw the cruise boat and bus terminal building as a change that was "good".
But 19% of workers thought changes in village infrastructure were "bad" and were concerned about recycling, sewage disposal, signs, parking and food quality.
Up to 20% of visitors commented that some aspects of their visit were not as good as they had hoped.
Amenities and sandflies were the most common complaints.
However, half of the respondents who worked at Milford Sound said they had noticed an improvement in facilities and services during the time they had been there, while the other half felt there had been a deterioration in some aspect of their Milford experience.
The Doc community relations officer (planning), Stewart Genery, of Invercargill, said the results were not unexpected, "but it's really great to get stakeholder predictions and have those predictions validated".
Mr Genery said project participants, including tourism, aviation, fishing industry, community groups, Doc, Environmental Southland and the Southland District Council, would meet to discuss how they could monitor those values.
More than 470,000 visitors make the journey to Milford Sound each year and 877 visitors and 246 workers took part in the survey last year.
