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Case study: Dive! Tutukaka

This case study has been authored as part of the Northland Sustainable Tourism Project. It sets out Dive! Tutukaka’s perspectives of their experiences and the resources they dedicated to the process.

1. Business background

Business type

Adventure

Photo of HMNZS Waikato guns. Main products

Diving, training, snorkelling, kayaking and eco-tours

Number of staff

Low season — 9

High season — 35

Number of sites you operate from

One — Tutukaka

How long has your company been in business?

Current ownership and management has been in place since 1999.

What are your main markets?

60% international

40% domestic

What factors affect the success of your business?

The main factors that influence the business are:

  • the destination
  • marketing
  • the level of service.

2. Sustainable business practices

What does sustainability mean to your business?

Sustainability means being able to leave the planet in the same or better state than when we entered it. For Dive! Tutukaka, sustainability means for staff and the business to have a secure future without harming the environment in which we live.

What sustainable business practices was your company using before being involved in this project?

Dive! Tutukaka has always viewed sustainability as an important commitment. We had a number of initiatives in place before becoming involved in the project including:

  • high standards of health and safety management, including hazard identification
  • established programmes to support youth employment
  • good level of community engagement and support, through sponsorships and donations
  • active involvement in promoting and attracting local tourism.

What was involved for your company in the project?

Being involved in this project was a bit like diving a new site — you have some idea of where you are going, but the insights and experiences are actually quite different from what you first expected.

The level of detail and the actual commitment take you out of the normal realms of running your business.

Where did the motivation come from to become involved in this project?

Dive! Tutukaka is always on the edge of new developments, and therefore had to be involved in such a project. We saw this project as a great opportunity for new learnings.

Who has been involved in the project to date and why?

Every ship has a skipper who initially determines the course. The rest of the crew then follow that direction and input their particular experiences into the process. And so it was with this project — the owner made the initial decision and the rest of the team has supported that course.

How much time did your business spend on this initiative?

In preparing for the on-site assessments, the owner spent six hours with the high level analysis and sustainability checklist. The on-site assessment necessitated a day of company time. But many hours were also spent pondering on a more general level.

What steps has your company implemented since the start of the project?

Since the start of the project we have:

  • held a staff workshop on ‘what’ sustainability means to Dive! Tutukaka
  • completed a High Level Sustainability Assessment, which provided a basis for identifying key sustainability issues and opportunities for the business
  • implemented a number of initiatives highlighted during the on-site sustainability assessment, including sourcing environmentally preferable products and enhancing our hazard identification, management and control processes
  • conducted a team review of the detailed Sustainability Assessment prepared for us, and developed an Action Plan, which reflects our immediate, medium and longer term commitments to further enhance our sustainability performance.

How do you see your company maintaining its commitment to the process started by this project?

As a result of Dive! Tutukaka’s involvement in this process, some clear horizons are unfolding — the compass has been set. The business feels it can continue this process by addressing each action point one by one.

There is a list to work through and tick off, but the company also now views other issues in a new light.

3. Commitments to sustainability

The Action Plan included a Statement of Intent, which set out the steps we have committed to take in support of the Northland Tourism Charter, over the immediate, medium and long term. In summary, these are:

Commitments to the environment

  • Share the process and key outcomes of the sustainability project with other small to medium enterprises
  • Purchase and use environmentally certified and environmentally preferable products
  • Introduce solid waste monitoring for land and sea-based operations
  • Identify and implement waste minimisation, re-use and recycling initiatives
  • Investigating opportunities to offset the carbon dioxide travel footprint of clients through potential involvement in native forest restoration projects
  • Incorporate water conservation measures into planned new building design

Commitments to our community

  • Enhance community involvement further by donating company facilities and time
  • Pool resources of local operators to identify and implement new sustainable tourism initiatives
  • Source local goods and services
  • Liaise with local iwi to explore opportunities for enhanced cultural information provision and interpretation
  • Build on existing relationships with other tourism operators and the Department of Conservation to implement a marine mammal monitoring and reporting programme

Commitments to the company

  • Work with staff to ensure buy-in and involvement with sustainability initiatives
  • Owner/Operator commitment to recognise their private life outside of the business as being of equal importance to the business
  • Enhance hazard identification, management and control processes

4. Advice to others

What advice would you give to other businesses interested in becoming involved in a similar type of initiative?

  • Take a long-term view
  • Be prepared to invest time and energy
  • Feel good about doing it!

5. Benefits of being in the project

There were a number of benefits for Dive! Tutukaka in being a part of this sustainable tourism project including:

  • as a Company, Dive! Tutukaka has been able to express its individual responsibility to do their bit
  • economic benefits in the medium term
  • sustainability is the underlying foundation for any real progress.

6. Roadblocks to sustainability

Working towards a more sustainable business has had some challenges. The three biggest challenges were:

  • understanding what the exact issues were
  • making enough time available
  • convincing others that the time is well invested.

Contact details

Organisation: Dive! Tutukaka

Contact person: Jeroen Jongejans

Address: PO Box 404, Whangarei

Phone: (09) 434 3867

Email: info@diving.co.nz

Web: www.diving.co.nz

 

Other case studies:
Fullers Bay of Islands | Matakohe Top Ten Holiday Park | Wairere Boulders Nature Park | Waitangi Treaty Grounds

Last updated: 26 August 2005