The view of Aurora Australis from Observation Rock looking out over Paterson Inlet on Stewart Island.

The future of tourism on Stewart Island looks bright with the island officially recognised as one of only five International Dark Sky Sanctuaries in the world.

The island has been successful in its bid to become an International Dark Sky Sanctuary.

IDA Dark Sky Places Program manager Adam Dalton said the accreditation was unanimously endorsed by the IDA Board.

Stewart Island is the fifth Dark Sky Sanctuary and only the second island sanctuary in the world.

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"Stewart Island/Rakiura's pristine night skies are a rare treasure and through the sanctuary's enacted policies the area will remain a resource in a world where access to the night sky is becoming increasingly scarce."

Venture Southland group business and strategic project manager Steve Canny said it was announced the island was officially a sanctuary overnight on Thursday.

Things would move quickly as the community and businesses would start to officially promote the status and viewing opportunities for this year, Canny said.

Tourism businesses on the island had been anticipating the decision and were working in the background to develop strategies on they could leverage new opportunities from the status, he said.

People had also been in discussion with Venture about developing dark sky tourism businesses like dark sky tours, Canny said.

The application for the dark sky sanctuary status was prepared by an independent consultant and Venture Southland in conjunction with the Stewart Island Promotion Association.

Association committee member Anita Geeson said she was "pretty chuffed" with the news.

While she was optimistic about the future benefits the status could bring to the island, she said the community need to tread with caution around the idea it could bring many tourists during the winter season.

Although typically the weather was more settled in June and July, stargazing still required clear skies, Geeson said.

Plans for an observation platform at Observation Rock were being developed in a joint effort between the Department of Conservation and the Stewart Island Community Board, she said.

Observation Rock was a popular area for night time viewing and it was thought a platform would help to improve safety and stop people jostling for position, Geeson said.

Rakiura Māori Lands Trust chairman Simon Gomez said the news was "very positive".

The trust saw an opportunity to develop tourism products that could tie in with existing operations like the kiwi spotting business it ran in partnership with Real Journeys, Gomez said.

There was also an opportunity to develop private viewing areas on Rakiura Māori Trust Lands that had good vantage points for night sky viewing, he said.

Stewart Island Community Board chairman Jon Spraggon said it was great news.

Being a Dark Sky Sanctuary was something else the island had to offer to tourists, Spraggon said.

New Zealand has two other dark sky places, Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve and the Aotea/Great Barrier Island Dark Sky Sanctuary, the only other island sanctuary in the world.

The International Dark-Sky Association's (IDA) dark sky places program was founded in 2001 and has anointed 100 "dark sky" places globally since then, the locations distinct by whether they are a sanctuary, a reserve, a park or community.