Island levy leading the way
As the government grapples with introducing a visitor levy, Stewart Island has been reaping the benefits of it since 2013
It’s believed the island’s levy was the first in New Zealand aimed at tourism.
The idea originated from island residents back in the 1970s.
They were concerned about ratepayers footing the bill for infrastructure to support the growing tourism industry.
A levy charged to visitors was suggested as a way to allow the cost of infrastructure to be shared between the small ratepayer base and visitors.
While the idea was widely supported it started to gather real momentum after Invercargill MP Eric Roy introduced a member’s bill into Parliament in 2010 that would give the Southland District Council the power to charge visitors to Stewart Island.
The Southland District Council (Stewart Island/Rakiura Visitor Levy) Empowering Act was passed into law in March, 2012, and the levy took effect October 1, 2013.
The levy is included in ticket prices on Stewart Island Flights, Cruise New Zealand and the Stewart Island Experience ferry. To date, $653,915 has been collected from visitors.
Southland District Mayor Gary Tong said the island levy was a successful model that worked well.
While the levy had positive spinoffs for Stewart Island, it might not work the same for other local government authorities as it would depend on the needs of individual places, he said.
Money from the levy covers some infrastructure costs but the reality is major projects would have to be funded by the council.
Tong supports the government’s international visitor levy proposal but said the devil was in the detail regarding how the funds would be distributed.
Queenstown Lakes District Council Mayor Jim Boult has made no secret that Queenstown is struggling with the impact of tourism. He wants central government to let his council implement a local levy.
The amount of money collected by a border levy would be very small in terms of what would be required for tourism infrastructure for Queenstown alone, Boult said.
The government had indicated that the levy could bring in up to $80 million a year, which would be split between funding conservation and infrastructure throughout the country.
Queenstown needed an estimated $40m to keep up with current growth, Boult said.
Money from a border levy would end up going into a central pool.
Boult does not want his council to have to go to Wellington with a begging bowl with no surety of what it would get.
Queenstown had 4.5 million visitor nights last year. On that figure the Queenstown Lakes District Council is looking at a bed tax of $10 a night.