FAQs

Does wind farming affect tourism?

There is no evidence to suggest that wind farms deter tourists, indeed some of New Zealand's wind farms/ turbines have become iconic of their locality and are used in tourism promotion. Hundreds of people visit a wind farm somewhere in New Zealand every week. And there are many positive examples from overseas as well:

The Australian Wind Energy Association reports on different Australian examples of wind farms which attracted many visitors. They reason that there is ample anecdotal evidence that they may encourage tourism.

The UK's first commercial wind farm in Cornwall received 350,000 visitors in its first 10 years of operation.(1) An energy centre was opened at the site in 2001 and received 50,000 visitors in its first year. In Swaffham, Norfolk, tourists queue to climb the wind turbine tower to the viewing platform at the top.

In Scotland, a Mori poll was undertaken in 2002 regarding wind farms in the Argyll area. 80% of tourists said they would be interested in visiting a wind farm if it were open to the public with a visitor centre. (2)

In Denmark, many tour agencies run boat trips to take visitors to see the offshore wind farm at Middelgrunden, near Copenhagen.

Notes:
(1) www.bwea.com/ref/faq.html#tourism

(2) www.mori.com/polls/2002/windfarms.shtml

Back to FAQs