Tourism Industry Aotearoa has partnered with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) to launch a new online training course helping tourism operators reduce energy consumption while improving their bottom line and guest experience.
Energy Efficiency for Tourism: Reducing Costs and Carbon While Enhancing the Guest Experience is now available on Akiaki – Advancing Tourism, with EECA funding the course development.
The course is one of 11 in the Akiaki programme that supports businesses to implement the Tourism Sustainability Commitment, covering everything from being an employer of choice, embracing Māori values, measuring carbon emissions and reducing waste. The Energy Efficiency course guides operators from understanding their energy use and identifying quick wins, through to planning long-term investments that build business resilience. The course features practical tools to reduce energy consumption across accommodation, hospitality and transport and other activities.
Tourism Industry Aotearoa Chief Executive Rebecca Ingram says the course builds on substantial sustainability work already underway across the industry and responds directly to what members are asking for.
“Our latest Tourism Sustainability Commitment survey showed that 98% of operators say sustainability is important to their business, and nearly half want online information, tools and resources to help accelerate their actions even further. This course delivers exactly that.”
EECA Sector Partnerships Lead, Jo Parag, says the collaboration enables energy efficiency support tailored specifically for tourism. "We know that there are real opportunities for tourism businesses across their operations to reduce consumption in ways that can enhance the guest experience. This course brings expertise together in a format that's accessible to tourism businesses of all sizes, helping them find solutions that save money while reducing environmental impact."
Building on the industry's existing commitment to energy efficiency, the course features real-world case studies from Hotel Britomart in Auckland and Ziptrek Ecotours in Queenstown, showing how improvements support business growth across different types of operations.
Ms Ingram says, “Energy efficiency is a fundamental component to achieving the targets outlined in the industry's strategy Tourism 2050 - A Blueprint for Impact. This latest course provides another practical tool to help our members build on their sustainability actions while growing stronger, more resilient businesses.”
The course also demonstrates TIA's commitment under the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, which the organisation signed in May 2025. The Declaration commits TIA to lead by example, sharing knowledge and catalysing collaborative action across the sector.
ABOUT AKIAKI – ADVANCING TOURISM
The Akiaki education programme was developed by Tourism Industry Aotearoa to help tourism operators to advance their knowledge about sustainable tourism and learn how to implement practical actions within your business. The eleven bite-sized courses are based around the Tourism Sustainability Commitment’s four pou - Ōhanga (Economic), Manuhiri (Visitor), Hapori (Community), and Te Taiao (Environment). The courses are free for TIA members, and non-members can register for a small fee.
The courses are:
• A Guide to Akiaki – Advancing Tourism
• Carbon Measurement and Reduction
• Waste Elimination and Sustainable Supply Chains
• Restoring Nature
• Visitor Engagement
• Resilience
• Storytelling
• Investment and Innovation
• Employer of Choice and Community Engagement
• Culture and Heritage
• Energy Efficiency
ABOUT THE GLASGOW DECLARATION
The UN launched the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November 2021. The Declaration commits signatories to support global goals to halve emissions over the next decade and reach Net Zero emissions as soon as possible before 2050. Over 900 organisations have become signatories of the Declaration to accelerate climate action worldwide.
For more information visit Akiaki - Advancing Tourism.
