Who pays for our Field of Dreams?

While it’s all very well for people to visit a place and enjoy it, somebody has to fork out for the privilege, and not everyone is keen to put their hand in their pocket.

‘If you build it, he will come,’’ the mysterious voice told Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams.

And come he did, along with hundreds, probably thousands, of others, all drawn by some mysterious force to see the baseball diamond Kevin built in the middle of his cornfield.

The voice was somewhat less specific about the actual details of the project or its economic impact on Kevin’s farm.

The producers must have dropped the follow-up scene where the voice gave Kevin advice on where the visitors should park, how many toilets he’d need to build, how he’d need to plan the sewerage, the cleaning, the rubbish disposal, who he should consult for a full risk assessment and the best approach to get a food permit. (‘‘They’ll probably get a bit peckish, Kev.’’)

The voice definitely didn’t go into details about paying for all of this. Because, while it’s all very well for people to visit a place and enjoy it, somebody has to fork out for the privilege, and not everyone is keen to put their hand in their pocket.

Take tourism in New Zealand, our very own Field of Dreams. The industry provides work for 230,793 New Zealanders (8.4 per cent of the working population) and brought in $36 billion in the year ended March 2017.

But not everyone pays, and the issue of freedom campers, those who avoid camp sites and hotels in favour of the great outdoors (that’s a car park to you), was a national issue this summer.

Councillors in New Plymouth got caught out by the number of people camping for free at one of its most popular surf spots and had to reintroduce restrictions only a matter of weeks after they lapsed, while at Akaroa, in Canterbury, the number of complaints could lead to changes to the local council bylaw.

It was a situation repeated around the country, with local authorities complaining about the money they were having to spend clearing up after those who spent as little as possible.

After all, how can someone who spends the night in the great outdoors (sorry, car park), washes in a public toilet and buys most of their food from a supermarket be contributing to independent local businesses?

But now, having heard the not-so-mysterious voice of councils across the country, Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis is consulting on proposals for an international visitor levy – or tourist tax. ‘‘Rapid growth has impacted on the costs and availability of publicly provided infrastructure,’’ he said on Friday. ‘‘Many regions are struggling to cope.’’

Although there would be exemptions to the proposed rate of between $25 and $35 to enter the country, the Government reckons the levy could bring in between $57 million and $80m in its first year, with the money going to tourism infrastructure and conservation. ‘‘It’s only fair that they [tourists] make a small contribution so that we can help provide the infrastructure they need and better protect the natural places they enjoy,’’ Conservation Minister Eugenie Sage said.

This seems to be an eminently sensible idea, and while no-one likes spending money, an extra $25 or $35 is unlikely to put off visitors. Perhaps Costner’s voice should have offered him similar advice all those years ago. (‘‘It’ll help with the overheads, Kev.’’)