Why isn’t DOC coming to the party on fees?
What’s up, DOC? Why has the Department of Conservation failed to come to the party and reduce the fees it charges more than 4600 concessionaires in the conservation estate? Across the heartland, adventure and ecotourism operators are wrestling with this fees regime at the same time they’re under pressure to make their prices more conducive to the domestic appetite.
To date, DOC hasn’t budged, failing to reduce the arsenal of fees bearing down on operators. I spent last week tripping through our magnificent Mackenzie region, where the tourism scene is doing its damnedest to stir back into life.
The surreal novelty of a crowd-free Tekapo felt like I’d fallen down a rabbit hole to 1985. I savoured the soothing delights of Tekapo Springs, where the hot pools and stargazing tours are operating, largely due to the wage subsidy lifeline.
But the biggest operator in town, the Dark Sky Project, is still hibernating, after swiftly laying off 90 staff during the lockdown – nearly a quarter of the town’s permanent population.
Is it waiting for a big government handout, a la Whale Watch and Waitomo Caves, before reopening?
Some operators are miffed that Tourism Holdings is pocketing a $4 million handout for its Waitomo operations, given the Chinese government’s investment company, Citic Capital, is a 17 per cent shareholder. Shouldn’t these ‘‘iconic attraction’’ handouts be confined to exclusively New Zealand entities?
But back to the topic du jour: the multi-pronged tollgate of DOC’s fees regime. In Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park, Mary and Charlie Hobbs operate a variety of ventures including their renowned alpine and glacier guided adventures and the Old Mountaineers Cafe´ .
Like a lot of operators, Mary is scathing of DOC’s intransigence, particularly after the email that was sent to operators on March 25. It stated: ‘‘We are suspending all DOC invoicing for all concessions/permits until further notice. We’re also currently considering how we will respond to your requests to waive or reduce fees. This includes any fees that have been paid in advance.’’
Nearly three months later, no fees have been waived or reduced. The only form of departmental relief has been the granting of an extra month for the payment of fees owing.
In the case of the Hobbs’, DOC charges them staff accommodation building rental charges, monitoring fees, environmental fees, concession fees on every trip, plus glacier landing fees.
That last fee alone adds $30-50 per person to the ticket price of a glacier landing. Furthermore, DOC charges the equivalent of rates in Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park to resident concessionaires, after striking a deal with the Mackenzie District Council, as the water and waste collection provider.
Local operators have also been adversely hit by the collapse of two Chinese travel agencies, leaving them out of pocket to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars for services rendered.
DOC is still insisting operators pay the concession fees for those trips, despite the agent companies going broke.
The Government has arguably been asleep at the wheel while this fees fight has festered, but is help finally on the way from Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage? I sent a range of questions to DOC, but was told Sage would answer on behalf of DOC as well. She tells me she has ‘‘asked the department to actively explore what options may be available, such as reducing or suspending activity-based fees until the border reopens.
‘‘Work is under way right now to consider how best to support the recovery of businesses through this difficult time.’’
But Sage then goes off-piste to tell me how the $500 million Jobs for Nature programme will generate 6000 jobs. That’s nice, but pulling out wilding pines is totally irrelevant to urgently supporting the business viability of struggling concessionaires.
The Government has been jawboning landlords to ‘‘be kind’’ and reduce rental charges, so why doesn’t DOC act accordingly?
Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) is piling on the pressure.
It wants DOC to remove all fixed, non revenuebased concession fees, defer all revenue-based payments until 2021 and stop charging revenuebased concession fees while the borders remain closed.
TIA’s Ann-Marie Johnson tells me it also wants DOC to consider permanently removing revenuebased concession fees for domestic customers, because as taxpayers, they’re paying twice for access.
It’s a compelling point. DOC must drop its revenue raid on Kiwis. Now.
The only form of departmental relief has been the granting of an extra month for the payment of fees owing.