The latest quarterly Dunedin regional visitor monitor, covering April to June this year, found expectations among tourists of an environmentally pure and sustainable experience while visiting Dunedin were on the rise.
However, visitor ratings for Dunedin's environmental performance had declined slightly, from 8.3 out of 10 to 8.2 in the past year, the survey found.
Visitors' impressions of the city's cleanliness had been steady for the previous two years.
The results were included in the latest Tourism Dunedin quarterly report, presented to last week's Dunedin City Council economic development committee by Tourism Dunedin chairman Barry Timmings.
"We are pretty mindful of things that impact the visitor experience," Mr Timmings told the meeting.
In response to a question from Cr Fliss Butcher, he said the city needed to demonstrate it backed waste disposal facilities for campervans and other initiatives.
Committee chairman Cr John Bezett said it was important for the council to follow up on the concerns as "really, it's a council responsibility".
The Tourism Dunedin report noted some visitors were commenting on aspects of the city's infrastructure, including street cleanliness and waste disposal facilities.
More monitoring was needed "given the importance of environmental performance to Dunedin's visitors and to the region's overall market positioning", the report said.
The ratings given by visitors to the city's environmental performance were now behind the benchmark, and the "mismatch" between visitors' expectations and the city's performance "may become problematic if it continues", the report warned.
"The slight decrease in the proportion of visitors `very interested' in returning to Dunedin may also be a reflection of this change," the report said.
