INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION 3/2020 Business Spotlight 25
Fotos: primeimages/iStock.com
T
here are few countries in the world with such
an alluring reputation as New Zealand — or
Aotearoa (“land of the long white cloud”), as
it is known in the Maori language. For some,
it’s the beautiful landscapes; for others, it’s the
country’s welcoming population or its high
standard of living. Then there’s Prime Minister
Jacinda Ardern, admired across the world as a
leader of integrity and honesty.
This image is not without merit. But as the
election in September this year will make clear,
the country and its prime minister also face
major challenges. Although Ardern’s approv-
al ratings remain high, she is nowhere near as
popular at home as she is abroad. A slowing
economy and worries about inequality are major concerns for
her Labour party and its traditional voters. And despite her
eco-friendly rhetoric, Ardern’s green credentials will be further
challenged, should she win another term in office.
Kings of tourism
Since Kiwi Peter Jackson decided to shoot his Lord of the Rings
and Hobbit films in New Zealand, the country has been home to
a multibillion-dollar film industry and become an increasingly
popular destination for international tourists. Of a total tour-
ism expenditure of NZ$ 40.9 billion (€24 billion) in 2018–19,
NZ$ 17.2 billion (€10.1 billion) was from international tourists.
And it’s about to receive another boost, with Amazon’s much-
anticipated Lord of the Rings television series to be made there,
likely to be the most expensive TV series ever made. Why New
Zealand? “We knew we needed to find somewhere majestic,
with pristine coasts, forests, and mountains, that also is a home
to world-class sets, studios, and highly skilled and experienced
craftspeople and other staff,” said Amazon executive producers
J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay.
Such majestic images are central to New Zealand’s attraction
as a tourist destination. The country is made up of two principle
land masses, North Island (home to more than three-quarters
of the population) and South Island. Its nearest neighbour is
Australia, around 2,000 kilometres to the north-west across the
southern Pacific Ocean, and Fiji, Tonga and other islands across
Polynesia.
New Zealand sits on two tectonic plates, the Pacific and the
Australian. The shifting of these plates causes the devastating
earthquakes that periodically hit the country. In 2011, an earth-
quake killed 185 people in Christchurch. Underground activity
also causes geothermals, boiling mud, geysers and hot springs,
such as at the North Island’s Rotorua. Much loved by tourists
today, they were first used by the Maori centuries ago.
There is a uniqueness to the diversity of New Zealand’s nat-
ural environment, with an estimated 80,000 endemic species.
Around two-thirds of the South Island is mountainous, as is
around a fifth of the North Island. This is a country of alps and
glaciers, beautiful fjords and tranquil waters. More recently, it
has also become a country of vast plains, huge areas given over
to modern agriculture.
Humans and the environment
New Zealand lay undiscovered by humans until Polynesian
people started to settle there around AD 1250–1300, arriving
across the sea in canoes. Forebears of today’s Maori, they tra-
ditionally saw elements of the natural world, living and non-
living, as ancestors. Central to Maori society are the concepts
of whanau (“family” and “extended family”), hapū (“sub-tribe”)
and iwi (“tribe”).
Atemberaubende Landschaften, Drehort von Tolkiens „Herr der Ringe“, freundliche
Menschen, die reichen Traditionen der indigenen Maori, ein immer beliebter
werdendes Reiseziel – all das ist für viele Neuseeland. PAUL WHEATLEY gibt
einen Überblick über die Geschichte, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft des Inselstaates im
Pazifik und zeigt, dass keineswegs alles paradiesisch ist.
ADVANCED PLUS
TROUBLE
IN PARADISE
alluring [E(lUErIN]
, verlockend, faszinierend
ancestor [(ÄnsestE]
, Vorfahr(in)
boost [bu:st]
, Schub
canoe [kE(nu:]
, Kanu
craftsperson
[(krA:fts)p§:s&n]
, (Kunst-)Handwerker(in)
credentials
[krE(denS&lz]
, Referenzen;
hier: Glaubwürdigkeit
devastating
[(devEsteItIN]
, verheerend
earthquake
[(§:TkweIk]
, Erdbeben
expenditure
[Ik(spendItSE]
, Ausgaben
face sth. [feIs]
, etw. gegenüberstehen
Fiji [(fi:dZi:]
, Fidschi
fjord [fi(O:d]
, [wg. Aussprache]
forebear [fO:beE]
, Urahn(in), Vorfahr(in)
geothermal
[)dZi:EU(T§:m&l]
, hier: geothermisches
Feld
geyser
[(gi:zE / (gaIzE]
, Geysir
glacier [(glÄsiE]
, Gletscher
Kiwi
[(ki:wi:] ifml.
, Neuseeländer(in)
merit: be not without ~
[(merIt]
, seine Gründe haben
much-anticipated
[)mVtS Än(tIsEpeItId]
, mit viel Spannung
erwartet
mud [mVd]
, Schlamm
pristine
[(prIsti:n]
, naturbelassen,
unberührt
term in office
[)t§:m In (QfIs]
, Amtszeit
tranquil
[(trÄNkwIl]
, ruhig, beschaulich
tribe [traIb]
, Stamm, Ethnie
uniqueness
[ju(ni:knEs]
, Einzigartigkeit
vast plain
[)vA:st (pleIn]
, weite Ebene
