Robust regulations to preserve NZ reputation
Christchurch certainly knows the importance of Chinese visitors to the fortunes of the tourism industry. The surging growth rate has seen around
60,000 Chinese visitor arrivals pour through Christchurch Airport in the past year – second only to Australian arrivals.
The fast-evolving impact of the coronavirus pandemic looks set to lower that line this year, but as the tourism industry braces for the economic fallout, perhaps it’s a timely opportunity to review our increasing reliance on Chinese visitation and the quality of the visitor experience we provide.
The latest horror bus crash in Queenstown two weeks ago calls into question the reputational risk tourism faces if we fail to insist on and rigorously enforce stringent industry standards that underpin the quality of the experience.
A spate of recent cases raises fresh doubts as to the robustness of the regulations governing inbound Chinese group tours and the willingness of all operators to fully comply with New Zealand law.
In the great majority of cases, inbound operators play by the rules, upholding quality and safety. But not all.
Remember the grim headlines that encircled the Christchurch-based tour company Alps Travel, oddly headquartered out of an Upper Riccarton Chinese restaurant? Several foreign nationals, employed by the company, were convicted in 2018 of using false or borrowed licences to drive tour groups around Fiordland.
Shortly afterwards, Alps Travel was also busted for 153 employment law breaches, covering
30 employees, and fined $75,000. January’s Queenstown bus crash has resulted in a Chinese tour driver, employed by Christchurch-based Awing Travel, being charged with careless driving causing injury, after 20 tourists were injured, including the loss of limbs.
Last September, there was the horrific bus crash in Rotorua, in which five Chinese nationals from the tour group were killed.
The driver, Junwei Zhang, entered not guilty pleas to 13 charges in November.
The case is due to be reviewed on February 11.
The vast majority of Chinese inbound tour groups operate under the Approved Destination Status (ADS) special visa scheme. In place for more than 20 years, Tourism New Zealand is responsible for monitoring the integrity of ADS tours with a Code of Conduct, which requires tour operators to engage local drivers in line with New Zealand’s licensing requirements for passenger service vehicles. They are also required to use New Zealand-based tour guides.
Drivers and guides are not allowed to enter New Zealand under the guise of being visiting ‘‘tour escorts’’.
Tourism New Zealand tells me that in its latest market industry update, 208 tours were the subject of compliance spot-checks. The total breach rate was 8.1 per cent, 31 per cent down on the previous spot check.
But an 8 per cent breach rate is still cause for concern, considering 150,000 annual Chinese visitors are being hosted in our country on ADS tours.
Furthermore, not all Chinese group tours fall under the auspices of the ADS scheme. Tourism NZ has identified the increase in ‘‘local tours’’ as an industry challenge, whereby many visitors join informal tour groups in rental vans, largely flying under the radar.
The tourism industry is understandably sensitive to any concerns raised about the reputational risk of maverick operators catering to inbound tour groups. Tourism Industry Aotearoa and the Bus and Coach Association both failed to provide any responses to my questions. However Proguides, the professional association of tour guides in New Zealand, didn’t hold back.
Proguides chair Wilhelm Lehmberg says the association ‘‘has long been concerned about the dangers posed by inexperienced overseas drivers, in many cases without appropriate licences.
‘‘There is inadequate regulation of foreign drivers and guides and we’ve made numerous representations to relevant agencies.’’
Lehmberg believes a major flaw in the existing special visa regime is that although immigration requirements do differentiate between tour escorts and tour guides, special work visas are readily issued without robust vetting.
Proguides believes a multi-agency coordinated review of the entire licensing, work visa, accreditation and enforcement regime is overdue, to protect and enhance our tourism brand.
Rigorously upholding those standards equally pertains to domestic operators, too.
The spate of maintenance and safety flaws identified by the New Zealand Transport Agency against Travlon Coachlines in recent years, following multiple crashes, underscores that safety imperative.
Tourism NZ tells me that in its latest market industry update, 208 tours were the subject of compliance spot-checks. The total breach rate was 8.1 per cent ...