Levies would be welcomed
Tourism New Zealand chief executive Stephen England-Hall believes tourists would be happy to pay a visitor tax if they know where their money is going.
England-Hall was in Invercargill yesterday as part of the Tourism New Zealand Roadshow touring the country and sharing its work with the tourism industry.
While setting tax strategies was not the business of Tourism New Zealand, England-Hall thought tourists would be OK with the additional expense if they saw where their money was going.
The Government held a consultation, which ended on July 15, to see if a tourist tax could ease the cost burden on communities and ratepayers for tourism-related infrastructure.
‘‘From a visitor experience point of view, if visitors see that their additional expense is going to be applied to making the visitor experience better, then I think that won’t be an issue’’
Consumers wanted to know what they were paying for, England-Hall said.
‘‘By charging for something that was previously free, you set a new expectation about the quality of the experience you are now expecting.’’
Where previously there were no toilets, consumers would want to a toilet, and a clean one at that, if they were paying extra, England-Hall said.
The real issue is not that there are too many visitors, the issue is the system has not caught up with the volume of the demand that has been generated, he said.
‘‘I think we’ve been through a pinchpoint and it feels pretty uncomfortable for us given that we’re not used to sharing our space as Kiwis.’’
However, England-Hall was confident the Provincial Growth Fund would provide some relief to those regions facing tourism challenges.
Central government and local government are starting to work together to solve issues as they arise.
England-Hall expected to start seeing new infrastructure coming into place during the next few years, which would benefit both New Zealanders and tourists.
Demand to visit New Zealand was
‘‘We can expect growth to continue but at a moderated rate.’’ Tourism New Zealand CEO Stephen England-Hall
kept at a reasonable level because of the high cost of visiting the country and its isolation.
‘‘We can expect growth to continue but at a moderated rate than what we’ve had in the past,’’ England-Hall said.
An overwhelming majority of tourists reported that they had a great experience during their visit to New Zealand. Generally, with the exception of Australians, visitors are not repeat customers.
Southland Mayor Garry Tong said there has been a surge in visitor numbers to Southland in places such as Stewart Island, the Catlins and Fiordland.
The council is working on a number of applications to the Provincial Growth Fund for grants to improve infrastructure to manage tourism pressures.