Government's 'long overdue' tourism strategy to handle 5m overseas visitors

Tuesday, 6 November 2018

High hopes for tourism strategy.

The tourism industry hopes the Government's long overdue tourism strategy will help take the pressure off overburdened communities and make sure money is wisely spent on new infrastructure.

With millions of dollars up for grabs via the Provincial Growth Fund and an international visitor levy, there's been concern this could lead to a 'first in best dressed' approach to doling out the money.

The draft strategy released on Tuesday for public feedback said tourism brought wider economic, social and cultural benefits, but quickly responding to significant and rapid shifts in visitor numbers was a problem.

Future investment in tourism-related infrastructure would be based on factors such as whether it encouraged off peak travel, attracted higher spending visitors from new or emerging markets, and provided more jobs for New Zealanders as opposed to employing migrant labour.

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In 2017 tourism employed more than 230,000 New Zealanders, and the Government's new industry strategy wants the sector to employ and train Kiwis, rather than filling jobs with migrant workers.

* New Zealand needs a national tourism taskforce

* Tourism industry wants a say on how a new visitor levy will be spent**

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The Government suggests dividing funds between established regions under pressure from hosting large numbers of visitors, emerging regions that need a boost to attract more, and 'embryonic' regions requiring significant investment to cater for international visitors.

Regional tourism New Zealand chief executive Charlie Ives said setting priorities should help ensure money went to the right places.

'The Provincial Growth Fund is $1b and tourism has been allocated a big chunk of that so far … the strategy will hopefully deliver a road map as to where things should go over the next little while, like the suggestions for a new international airport in Central Otago.'

International visitor arrivals are forecast to surpass 5m by 2024 and Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis is confident we can handle the influx through better management.

Tourism Export Council chief executive Judy Chen said the strategy was long overdue and was a much-needed change in direction away from purely increasing visitor numbers.

Secure funding was important and her organisation would press for retention of the $25m a year tourism infrastructure fund when the new $35 visitor levy is introduced next year.

'We know that tourism has grown faster than many communities can cope with and this has put unplanned strain on local infrastructure with the locals often the ones paying for new carparks or public toilets through their rates.'

Tourism Minister Kelvin Davis agreed the focus on destination marketing over the past decade had to change to one of destination management and he is confident New Zealand can easily cope with the 5.1 m international arrivals forecast by 2024.

'We've had a 43 per cent increase in arrivals over the past five years, but if we look at countries like Ireland, which is smaller than us, they've managed to absorb 8m visitors annually.'

Part of the problem was that some regions competed, rather than co-operated.

'If we present a coherent tourism product, each area having its own unique style and attractions, we're going to do a lot better than areas running off and doing things in a hotchpotch manner; we've got to co-operate and be unified in the approach we take.'

Keeping New Zealanders 'on side' was a strong theme in the strategy which pointed out that a 'mood of the nation' survey showed 40 per cent of Kiwis questioned felt that international tourism was putting too much pressure on New Zealand, double the percentage of just under two years earlier

It said New Zealanders' access to public conservation lands and waters was 'particularly critical,' and community support for tourism dropped when the peak season influx caused overcrowding and had an adverse impact on the environment.

Davis said that although overseas tourists who came here last year spent $14.5b, domestic visitors spent more than $20b, and it was important to preserve Kiwi's ability to explore and enjoy their own country.