Sector hopes plan will ease visitor pressure
The tourism industry hopes the Government’s tourism strategy will help take the pressure off overburdened communities and make sure money is wisely spent on new infrastructure.
With millions of dollars up for grabs via the Provincial Growth Fund and an international visitor levy, there’s been concern this could lead to a ‘‘first in, best dressed’’ approach to doling out the money.
The draft strategy released yesterday for public feedback said tourism brought wider economic, social and cultural benefits, but quickly responding to significant and rapid shifts in visitor numbers was a problem.
Future investment in tourismrelated infrastructure would be based on factors such as whether it encouraged off peak travel, attracted higher-spending visitors from new or emerging markets, and provided more jobs for New Zealanders as opposed to employing migrant labour.
The Government suggests dividing funds between estab- lished regions under pressure from hosting large numbers of visitors, emerging regions that need a boost to attract more, and ‘‘embryonic’’ regions requiring significant investment to cater for international visitors.
Regional Tourism New Zealand chief executive Charlie Ives said setting priorities should help ensure money went to the right places.
‘‘The Provincial Growth Fund is $1 billion and tourism has been allocated a big chunk of that so far . . . The strategy will hopefully deliver a road map as to where things should go over the next little while, like the suggestions for a new international airport in Central Otago.’’
Tourism Export Council chief executive Judy Chen said the strategy was long overdue and a muchneeded change in direction away from purely increasing visitor numbers.
Secure funding was important and her organisation would press for retention of the $25 million a year tourism infrastructure fund when the new visitor levy of $35 per head is introduced next year.
‘‘We know that tourism has grown faster than many communities can cope with and this has put unplanned strain on local infrastructure, with the locals often the ones paying for new car parks or public toilets through their rates.’’
Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis agreed the focus on destination marketing over the past decade had to change to one of destination management.
He was confident New Zealand could cope with the 5.1 million international arrivals forecast by 2024. ‘‘We’ve had a 43 per cent increase in arrivals over the past five years, but if we look at countries like Ireland, which is smaller than us – they’ve managed to absorb 8 million visitors annually.’’
Part of the problem was that some regions competed, rather than co-operated, he said.