International visitors will be need a permit to go to Milford Sound under radical plans announced today. 

The Milford Opportunities Project masterplan also recommends the airstrip be closed, cruise ships banned, and a new park-and-ride system operate from a hub in Te Anau. 

The goal is to stop Milford Sound Piopiotahi being the "rush-in, rush-out place" it has become in recent years, with bus loads of tourists day-tripping from Queenstown, says project group chair Dr Keith Turner. 

Instead, visitors will be encouraged to also spend time in Te Anau and various stop offs along the Milford Road, as well as travelling to other spots throughout Southland.

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Visitor numbers to UNESCO World Heritage site Milford Sound peaked at 870,000 in 2019, up from 430,000 in 2013. 

"While Covid set back the numbers, we expect them to return because it is a rare opportunity to visit true wilderness," Dr Turner said.

Dr Turner says the project group, which began work in 2017, received strong feedback "that the numbers, intensified by mass arrivals of buses from Queenstown around lunchtime, were causing parking congestion in many places, problems on the Milford Road and at the sound itself". 

The park-and-ride and permit system would see international visitors charged to visit the area. New Zealanders would not pay for an access permit, but private vehicle parking at the sound will be limited.

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Income from the international permits will pay for improvements to infrastructure and conservation projects in Fiordland National Park, and enable mana whenua culture and history to be fully represented along the tourist route.

A combined visitor centre and park-and-ride base would be established in Te Anau, with another at Milford Sound, along with new hotel and staff accommodation. The buses would eventually be electric or hydrogen, with the longer-term goal of making Milford Sound a carbon-zero tourist destination.

"We received clear feedback that most visitors were as entranced by the journey through the Eglinton and Hollyford valleys as they were with the Milford Sound destination, but did not have enough time to enjoy the many stop offs available," Dr Turner said. 

"We want to create more time for the journey to Milford Sound Piopiotahi. There are many places around Te Anau and along the Milford Road which are stunning and well worth a visit. 

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"We believe Te Anau should be the start of that journey and we know that is a fundamental change for the market, but Milford Sound Piopiotahi should not be a rush-in, rush-out place. 

"We want to restore the essence of the place. Visitors should feel the wairua (spirit) of the place, the tranquility, the awesome surroundings and the wilderness."

Project leader Dr Keith Turner presenting the Milford Opportunities Project masterplan in Te Anau this morning

The Milford Airport airstrip, which is said to be a poor state of repair and vulnerable to high tides and earthquakes, would be closed. Several companies operate flight-seeing tours into the sound and about 3% of visitors arrive that way.

The plan would be to increase the 'vertical take off' area, for both helicopters and eventually electric aerial vehicles, replacing fixed wing aircraft.

Cruise ships would be forbidden from entering into the inner sound. 

Dr Turner said: "We know this will be controversial and that we will be affecting people's livelihoods. 

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"But the airstrip is in a poor state of repair, is already beginning to flood at extreme high tides, is very exposed to alpine fault tsunami risk and would be very expensive to rebuild to a modern and sustainable standard. 

"And the visual impact and risk of cruise ships are in conflict with the majority of land-based visitors, and they have other Fiordland options equally spectacular to visit."

The masterplan also recommends creating more visitor opportunities near Te Anau, including cycle and walking tracks, better walking and viewing opportunities at the sound, and improving the layout of the limited flat area of Milford. 

Another key recommendation is to have one body managing Milford Sound Piopiotahi, as the area is currently covered by many overlapping legislative acts, which makes improvements difficult to achieve. 

Mana whenua have worked in partnership with the project team and also as an advisory group.

The masterplan has been presented to Cabinet and Ministers and the next stage is two years of detailed planning on how the recommendations can become reality, which includes ongoing engagement with stakeholders. 

Back in May, Tourism Minister Stuart Nash announced $15 million for the Milford Opportunities Project, for detailed planning, community consultation, consenting, and preparation for new infrastructure.

Nash said tourism in Milford, and across New Zealand, cannot be allowed to return to its pre-Covid state, when it was at risk of losing its social licence. This will likely be a flagship project as the Government looks to create a more sustainable tourism industry. 

Southland App will have more on detail on this story, plus reaction, later today.