A mining industry consultant and vocal opponent of the Tarras Airport plans has been appointed director of the Milford Opportunities Project.

Chris Goddard will lead stage three of the project, which aims to transform the way tourism in Milford Sound Piopiotahi, the Milford Road, Te Anau and the surrounding region.

Goddard lives in Tarras with his wife, Donna, where the couple run their own consultancy business.

He has a background in mining and project management, which included engagement with government, diverse communities and the general public.

He's also leading Sustainable Tarras' battle to stop Christchurch Airport Ltd building a major new international airport in the Central Otago town, which would be a rival to Queenstown Airport.

Milford Opportunities Project board chair Dr Keith Turner says: "The delay in finding someone for this job has been worth it to get Chris in the role. He will drive this project forward, and I am sure he will build a strong team around him to do that.

“It would have been easy to choose one of New Zealand’s many tourism experts but this stage of the work demands strong project management and business acumen.

"We must think differently if we want to get a different result to the status quo. Chris brings that different perspective and importantly that drives him to listen to and understand stakeholders."

Turner says Goddard will be able to rely on the board for tourism expertise.

He will report to the board, and will lead a team of specialists to carry out stage three of the project, which is the in-depth business cases for the recommendations in the masterplan.

Milford Sound. Photo: Sébastien Goldberg / Unsplash

Turner believes the controversial masterplan, launched in Te Anau in July last year, will "change the way New Zealanders look at their iconic spaces".

"Some of the recommendations are thought-provoking and some already are creating lobby groups to fight against them, but I expected that,” Dr Turner said.

That includes plans to demolish the runway at Milford, which has created a huge backlash from flightseeing tourism operators.

"The sort of change we are looking for is massive and I am sure Chris is the person to take us there."

Goddard said he was thrilled to get the role because he believed in what was being proposed for the region.

"This role enables me to be part of a project that will be nationally and internationally important. It is going to be challenging and a lot of hard work, and I am looking forward to getting going," Goddard said.

His first plans are to work with stakeholders across the region to bring the masterplan to life.

"Working with Ngai Tahu and stakeholders, including local communities and local businesses, is essential," he said

The masterplan makes recommendations to Government and stage three is about developing the detailed business plans for how those concepts will become reality.

"We were asked to come up with something innovative, something challenging, something that will change the way tourism interacts with environment and conservation, Dr Turner said at the launch

"I feel we have done that and now the hard work of implementation and decision-making on how to implement it begins."

The project began in 2017, after concerns about the rapidly growing visitor numbers in Milford Sound Piopiotahi were raised by Southland District Council and the Department of Conservation.

Numbers peaked at 870,000 visitors in 2019, up from 430,000 in 2013.