Trampers who forget to check back in after filling out intention forms are wasting emergency services' time, so a project team has been set up to tackle the problem.
The team, led by the Mountain Safety Council, is made up of Department of Conservation (Doc), police, LandSAR and Ministry of Tourism representatives.
Team member and Doc Wakatipu area community relations manager John Roberts said 272 overdue tramper forms had to be checked by Doc staff last summer.
All the trampers had finished their tramp alive and well, but had forgotten to inform Doc.
Intention forms are a safety system that informs Doc of the intended route and a panic date if trampers do not return.
Trampers take off a stub from the form to be returned to confirm they have returned safely.
Mr Roberts said 20% of stubs were not returned.
If trampers do not inform Doc they have returned safely, then a full-scale search can result.
Mr Roberts said Doc staff spent an average of half an hour chasing up each of the missing stubs.
Out of the 272, six had to be passed on to the police, who later found the trampers had returned but had forgotten to inform Doc.
He said the project team had met once in Christchurch to discuss how the intention system could be improved.
At present, trampers could leave their intentions with Doc, the safety council, or with friends and family.
"The concern - especially for us in Queenstown because we get a lot of international visitors who don't understand the system - is that around 20% of people don't check in again and that equates to quite a few hours of labour checking up on people," he said.
The project team would be looking at the issues and trying to come up with solutions.
One possible solution was to have a universal web-based system, which could replace the paper forms.
It could also be used to promote personal responsibility.
Mountain Safety Council manager Steven Schreiber said a collaborative approach made sense.
"Having one system would be easier to use and easier to keep an eye on. It is important to use our resources as efficiently as we can so we can share the benefits and reduce waste," he said.
A web-based or text message system were two options mooted by the team, he said.
The team had put together a concept strategy which was awaiting approval.
Queenstown heli-skier Henry van Asch said he supported the web-based intention system to keep all National Park users safe.
"With the technology available now, it could be used to improve the quality of experiences in our beautiful spaces in a safer manner. The present system is not working from a safety perspective because people forget to check back in."
He said aircraft operators could use the web-based system to avoid groups of people, minimising noise disruption.
"If we know where people are going to be in the wilderness areas, we don't go near them, so the potential for conflict is reduced," he said.
