Editorial: The tourists are returning but are we in danger of overcharging and scaring them away?

Tourists are slowly returning to New Zealand.

EDITORIAL

The gradual yet much-needed return of the cashed-up international tourist has been a welcome sight over the past year.

The numbers are still behind pre-Covid-19 levels – down around 17 per cent – but close to a million more people visited these shores over the past 12 months.

Before the pandemic, tourism was New Zealand’s largest export industry, delivering $40 billion to the economy.

There was arguably no harder-hit sector than tourism and the recent surge in the number of arrivals – especially from China, followed by Australia, the United States and India – has helped the country’s economic bounceback.

But with New Zealand already having a global reputation for being expensive for travellers, will the Government’s desire to make foreigners pay more when they come here help?

Finance Minister Nicola Willis said last week that she supported raising the $35 International Visitor Levy (IVL) - paid by foreigners except those from Australia and the Pacific – and was “open-minded” about charging foreigners to enter National Parks.

The Government argues that the extra cash would help fill our massive infrastructure deficit, estimated to be as high as $1 trillion for the next 30 years.

The IVL currently generates about $80 million a year, which is split between conservation and tourism.

Raising it from $35 to as high as $100 is currently being consulted on - backed by Tourism Minister Matt Doocey - and any final decision would need to go through Cabinet.

The question is whether it’s the right time to squeeze more out of the tourism dollar.

Willis, quite rightly, says there is a “balance we need to strike” and to not turn people away from visiting because it’s so expensive.

And most Kiwis would likely support tourists paying their own way.

But given just how much tourism pours into the economy, across a range of sectors, giving life to towns and regions outside the big centres, striking the right balance, as Willis puts it, could never be more delicate.

Foreigners already pay more for staying at DOC huts on the Great Walks, while an entry fee for visiting Milford Sound has already been mooted, with Cabinet expected to receive the final proposals from the Milford Opportunities Project at the end of this month.

And a recent study found we now have the second-most expensive visitor visa in the world, behind the US, with the average cost hitting $170 across all valid visa classes.

New Zealand needs to be an attractive tourism destination – and we need to look after visitors once they land here.

If we continue to levy travellers at every turn, there is a high chance they will turn around and go elsewhere.