The majority of Queenstown residents surveyed in the most recent Mood of the Nation online survey believe international tourists are putting too much pressure on New Zealand.

Seventy-eight percent of the Queenstown respondents said there was too much pressure, nearly double the percentage number of those surveyed in other towns.

Pressure on infrastructure was the top concern, followed by damage to the environment, and overcrowding of national parks and the great walks.

Anonymous comments in the report included things like ” … infrastructure is not keeping up with demand, also road congestion in Queenstown area is nothing short of diabolical”.

Another wrote: “We need tourists but too many can be damaging to the local environment if we don’t manage it properly, which is what is happening in a lot of small towns.”

Read the full article in the ODT here.