Tourism eyes bigger slice of $2.8b tax take
The tourism industry says the Government can afford to be more generous with the $2.8 billion in GST it has collected from visitors’ wallets.
Statistics New Zealand put total domestic and international tourism spending at an all-time high of $34.7b for the year to March.
Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief Chris Roberts said the GST from overseas visitors alone had increased massively by more than 20 per cent to $1.1b, and the Government needed to invest that windfall in better infrastructure.
‘‘Nobody is making more money from the tourism boom than Bill English and Treasury.’’
He pointed out that visitors further contributed to government coffers through the border clearance levy and petrol tax.
Added to that was the income taxes paid by the 188,000 people directly employed in tourism, and the taxes paid by the thousands of companies servicing visitors.
‘‘Our biggest tourism business, Air New Zealand, paid the Government $460 million in taxes and dividends this year,’’ Roberts said.
The Government needed to fund infrastructure to support the continued rise in visitor numbers, which had grown almost 40 per cent since 2010.
‘‘The private sector is doing its bit, with hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on upgraded and new accommodation, attractions and activities. However, some regions with small populations, along with a few tourism hot-spots, face major challenges and capital constraints.‘‘
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said the first round of grants from its $12m fund for tourism infrastructure, such as public toilets, would be made ‘‘soon’’.
But Roberts said the facilities fund was ‘‘just scratching the surface’’ and could be significantly expanded to deliver real long-term benefits for the whole country.
Lincoln University professor of tourism David Simmons agreed and said it was important the right infrastructure was there to accommodate visitor growth. ‘‘It’s a fickle industry and you only need an outbreak of giardia somewhere to put people off through improper waste management.’’