"For too long we have allowed the negatives to occur without taking too much notice tourists are coming in but now those visitors are having an impact...we need to do it [study] before anything gets out of hand."
Destination Rotorua chief executive Michelle Templer said Rotorua's forests were an important asset in terms of providing a great recreational area for locals and for attracting visitors to the district for outdoor events, walking and mountain biking.
Destination Rotorua wanted to "ensure we preserve the quality of the experience visitors have" and was targeting higher value tourists, she said.
"A number of factors have contributed to an increase in numbers at the Redwoods iSite including increasing popularity of the forest, new developments such as the Tree Walk and increased exposure of the Redwoods and Whakarewarewa Forest."
In August Rotorua Lakes Council said it was looking to go into a co-governance arrangement with Tokorangi and Whakarewarewa forest owners CNI Iwi Holdings.
The alliance wanted to unlock future potential while several small sustainable businesses wanted to establish in the forest.
A council spokeswoman said currently nine commercial mountain bike businesses had permission to operate within the forest.
"The potential for more business opportunities will be investigated as part of new co-governance arrangements and management plans for the forest," she said.
A Department of Conservation spokeswoman said it did not administer the Redwood Forest which largely comprised of exotic species of relatively low ecological value.
"Without significant pest control, this area is unlikely to provide a sustainable habitat for native species, however, the area has high recreational value," she said.
Business boom
Business is booming for two tourism ventures in the Redwood Forest as more visitors discover its charms.
Tree Walk co-founder Bruce Thomasen said tourism was in a good space and "the Redwood forest is an iconic location".
Its numbers had increased with 50 to 80 people enjoying the walk on a weak day compared to more than 500 on a big day, he said.
The nightlight show walk, which opened in January and received more than $320,000 funding from the Government, accounted for 30 per cent of visitors.
"It's really popular... A couple of weeks ago one of the true bridge night lights won a New Zealand Gold design award which was pretty exciting."
Another interesting factor was the most Instragrammed pictures for the region was the Lake Tarawera landing "so this zone outside this side of the city is really coming into its own", he said.
Mountain Bike Rotorua director Tu Mutu, who operates two businesses in the forestry block with his brother Tak including mountain-biking tours and a new cafe inside the Visitor Information Centre, said it had phenomenal growth.
The mountain biking tours started in 2011 with 30 bikes and one staff member but now had 200 bikes and 25 employees.
"Over the last six to seven seasons we have seen exponential growth. The strength of mountain biking in the Whakarewarewa forest is unrivalled in the country and that stems out to international visitors as well.
"It's a very cool vibe down here that is supported by the landowners, recreational and commercial users of the forest. On a summer weekend the carpark is at complete capacity, it's teeming and then you go into the forest and it's such an amazing resource you can have as much or as little human interaction that you want, it's a pretty special place."
In August Tak Mutu told the Rotorua Daily Post he was in favour of the council looking to go into a co-governance arrangement with forest owners CNI Iwi Holdings at the Whakarewarewa/Tokorangi forest block.
The arrangement hoped to "unlock" the area's potential.
"I'm all for development but it has to complement it, not dominate it," he said.
