Eight staff at the government-funded Milford Opportunities Project have stepped down, shut up shop in Te Anau and passed their findings to Conservation Minister Tama Potaka and Tourism Minister Matt Doocey to decide the next steps.
The project, which has been running for seven years, has not shared its findings with the operators, who are concerned about crumbling and absent infrastructure and uncertainty.
There is no published timeline for ministerial deliberations.
"Nothing at Milford has changed — it is a backyard disgrace to New Zealand’s tourism industry."
There were no toilets at the airstrip, he said.
Rosco’s Milford Kayaks owner Rosco Gaudin said he could not fault the opportunities to provide opinions, but the facilities at Deepwater Basin were like working "in the ghetto".
While he was not privy to the project’s findings "the status quo is not an option".
"Everyone is wanting to get on, but what happens next is in the lap of the gods."
One former kayak guide, who did not want to be named, said Milford Sound offered the most spectacular guided kayaking in the world, but the changing facilities and toilets endured by guides and customers was "horrid and the responsibility of government departments to sort out".
The Milford Opportunities Project was set up in 2017 amid concerns about increasing visitors straining the infrastructure.
By 2021, the project had produced a "master plan" proposing a visitor access levy, infrastructure to "reflect its world-class setting" and a park-and-ride scheme.
Two proposals that caused contention were the airstrip’s removal and the building of a cable car to Bowen Valley.
The cost of producing the plan was $3.25m, which quickly spiraled to over $18m due to additional research and consultation.
The final stage of the project — design, planning and implementation — is dependent on the ministers’ decisions.
In June 2023, the Labour government directed the project to produce a public consultation document to inform a final business case.
It instructed the project to look at options for implementing the access levy.
The committee also asked for proposals to "strengthen" management of tourist concessions.
In response to the Milford Opportunities Project, more than a dozen tourist operators banded together to set up Destination Milford Sound, producing a briefing calling for a stop to the "incredibly costly" project and slamming its consultation as "superficial and not focused on resolving priority issues".
Chairman Mark Quickfall said it was "inconceivable" the master plan would be a funding priority for government, meanwhile operators continued to suffer. Long-term concessions had expired, capital investments could not be planned due to uncertainty and there was a need for basic infrastructure, such as staff accommodation.
Rising visitor numbers meant operators could not afford to wait any longer, he said.
A collaborative governance group including operators should be set up and private investment, requiring legislative change, should be enabled, he said.
For the final few months of the Milford Opportunities Project, Real NZ chief conservation officer Paul Norris joined the board, but without voting rights.
Milford Opportunities director Chris Goddard said he felt fortunate to have worked on the project to "safeguard this special place" and the people consulted had "made the work shine".
He said Milford Sound had faced complex and deep-seated challenges for decades, and it was appropriate for ministers to receive advice in advance of it being shared more generally.
"All those we’ve spoken to agree that some form of change is needed for Piopiotahi Milford Sound.
Ministerial decisions to implement recommendations would require "considerable funding and this is being addressed through recommendations from the [project’s] board".
