Joint move on tourism pitched

A tourist entry tax could help pay for toilets in a region in the throes of a tourism boom, a discussion paper prepared for an Environment Canterbury committee suggests.

Significant and ongoing funding is needed to provide and maintain public facilities in busy tourist areas, strategic discussion notes for the Upper Waitaki Zone Water Management Committee meeting say.

The government’s tourism facilities fund was designed to help regions meet demands but ongoing funding could come from an entry tax on non-residents, the paper says.

‘‘The committee acknowledges the recent funding announcement for facilities but believes there is a need for significant ongoing funding for facilities and that the revenue source is attached to the consumer of those facilities,’’ the paper says.

‘‘For example, a bed tax would not meet this criteria as it would target the specific group who are actually paying for facilities, whereas an entry tax on non-residents cold fund the cost of providing basic facilities for those consumers.’’

These points will be discussed by the committee on Friday, when it meets in Twizel to discuss a strategy to manage freedom campers and their impact.

It will consider a pan-regional approach with collaboration between Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), the Department of Conservation, the New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) and the Timaru, Mackenzie and Waimate district councils.

The tourism boom brought pressure on public facilities. Where such facilities did not exist, councils and communities were dealing with the effects of there being no toilets, the discussion document says.

‘‘The costs of these lack of suitable facilities fall to the local people who have to endure human waste in their special places.’’

Freedom camping management in the Upper Waitaki was challenging. Large areas of unoccupied Crown land were not subject to freedom camping bylaws, the report notes.

A cohesive and strategic approach to freedom camping was needed: ‘‘With land administered by LINZ, DOC, district councils and [NZTA], it is very difficult to find a cohesive message, let alone provide one to visitors’’.

The role of government would be critical in developing cohesion, the report suggests.

‘‘There is opportunity to combine cohesive freedom camping management, self-funded provision of facilities and point of entry education to mitigate the impacts of large visitor numbers on our environment and move our visitors up the value chain.’’

Contacted on Thursday, Mackenzie Mayor Graham Smith said his council would not be opposed to being part of a collaborative strategy group.

The council had already started discussions with NZTA about providing ‘‘wilderness toilets’’ at some roadside rest stops and with DOC regarding signage to show tourists where they could find the nearest facilities.

The council also discussed the issue with LINZ when it was forming its freedom camping bylaws for Tekapo and Twizel last year, he said.

LINZ acting group manager crown property Trevor Knowles said freedom camping needed to be managed in a cohesive manner by the various landholding agencies.

Working together meant the agencies could learn from each other’s experiences and determine a strategy for the area in which all parties would have a role, he said.

‘‘We plan to review camping activities/facilities at popular spots where there have been recent issues and determine how to manage this in the future,’’ he said.

NZTA director regional relationships Jim Harland said the organisation was happy to work with its local government partners and the tourism sector to help improve the journey experience for visitors and domestic travellers.