The Department of Conservation (DOC) looks after huge areas of land across Aotearoa, and it needs to know how many people visit those places. To do that, it has about 700 underground sensors buried under tracks and roads on conservation land. But the system is old and unreliable, so DOC is asking companies what could replace it. RNZ

A DOC tender document that closed on Friday said the current system has problems across the board — the hardware, the software, and the way data is collected and checked. The result is inconsistent data, delays, and lost information. Most of the counters cannot send data automatically. Instead, staff have to visit each one in person to download what it has recorded. DOC

The sensors are electronic units buried in the ground on tracks and roads. They record people walking, cycling, or driving over them.

DOC is especially interested in artificial intelligence and cameras as possible replacements, the tender document showed. Some high-value sites may end up with more than one type of monitoring technology. The cost of the new system will be paid for from the international visitor levy, a $100 charge that international tourists pay when they enter the country.

Conservation Minister Tama Potaka said better visitor data would help DOC decide where to put facilities, funding, and staff. The counter network helps DOC decide how to spend its budget across the country.

The data problems come as DOC prepares to charge international visitors at some of its most popular sites. DOC papers show charges of $20 to $40 for international visitors at Milford Sound, Aoraki Mount Cook, Mautohe Cathedral Cove, and the Tongariro Alpine Crossing could raise over $60 million a year. DOC said no final decisions have been made on the amounts. The earliest any charge could start is summer 2027–28, and it depends on the Conservation Amendment Bill, which has passed its first reading in Parliament.

DOC looked at three ways to charge: everyone pays the same, everyone pays but locals pay less, or only international visitors pay.

These counting problems are not new. DOC reports going back to 1999 have documented the difficulties of reliably counting visitors on conservation land. A 1999 report by G. Cessford proposed models for placing counters strategically. DOC A 2005 report by J. Ross looked at how to manage automatic counting instruments. DOC A 2006 review by K. Booth referenced a visitor monitoring manual. DOC Another DOC report outlined the difficulties of monitoring visitors in national parks. DOC

So DOC has been writing about these problems for more than 20 years. What has changed is that two things are now pushing at the same time: the old system needs replacing, and DOC is about to start charging international visitors at popular sites.

The connection is simple. If DOC is going to charge international visitors at iconic places, it needs solid data on who visits those places, how often, and when. A counter system that loses data and gives inconsistent numbers is a weak basis for a pricing structure that could bring in tens of millions of dollars a year. Tourism operators, iwi with interests in the whenua, and international visitors themselves will all want to see reliable figures.

The interest in AI and cameras suggests DOC wants more than a simple replacement. These technologies could potentially tell different types of visitors apart and send data back automatically, without staff having to visit each site. Whether companies can deliver that across 700 sites, from alpine tracks to coastal reserves, is what the tender process will test.

Using the international visitor levy to pay for the new system means international tourists carry the cost, not taxpayers or local visitors. That is politically tidy, but it also means the rollout depends on how much money the levy brings in, which goes up and down with tourist numbers.

The two things to watch are the tender outcome and the Conservation Amendment Bill's progress through Parliament. The counter replacement and the visitor charges are on separate timelines, but both are heading the same way: toward a conservation estate where international visitors pay more at the most popular sites, and DOC knows much more precisely who is turning up.