A much debated visitor levy is raising millions, but how should we spend it?

Thursday, 8 August 2019

A new international visitor levy will pay for tourism and conservation projects.

With millions of dollars rolling in from a new international visitor levy, the question now is what to spend it on.

The estimated $80m raised annually will be split between tourism and conservation.

Areas swamped by the rapid growth in tourist numbers are in line for assistance, as are Department of Conservation (DOC) projects to protect natural heritage, and efforts to improve visitor data.

Visitors requiring visas have paid the $35 per head international visitor levy (IVL) since 1 July, contributing $2.8m to date.

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

* [Tourism industry unhappy that Aussies will get off paying proposed visitor levy

*](https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/105678546/the-tourism-industry-is-unhappy-that-aussies-and-private-yachties-will-get-off-paying-a-proposed-visitor-levy?rm=m) International tourists to pay new $35 visitor levy**

But that will rise significantly once those from 60 visa-waiver countries (about 1.5m a year) start paying the levy via a new electronic travel authority which will be compulsory from 1 October as part of border security improvements.

The Government will shortly name a group of representatives from conservation, local government, tourism and Māori to advise Ministers on an investment plan for the money.

When that is finalised, DOC and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Business and Employment (MBIE) will choose individual projects deemed worthy of funding.

Since it was introduced on July 1, the new international visitor levy has already raised almost $3m. (File Photo)

MBIE tourism general manager Iain Cossar says they won't be 'rushing the money out the door' and it can accumulate year on year.

'We can concentrate on spending it on things we think are very good ideas when the time is right.

' [It's] a powerful tool to help fix some - certainly not all - the stresses on the tourism system.'

Cossar says they will also bear in mind the Government tourism strategy which aims to ensure all New Zealanders benefit from tourism, as well as giving international visitors a good time.

And there may be a move away from the traditional system of setting funding criteria and calling for applications.

'We could say, 'we want to achieve something like this in this area, come to us with your ideas.''

The new international visitor levy is expected to raise $80m annually and will be split between tourism and conservation.

Hypothetically, that could include top-up funding for specific roading and accommodation developments in regions under pressure, or those needing a leg up to become more viable destinations.

Cossar is quick to quash any suggestion of a return to the days of the Government-owned Tourist Hotel Corporation that built the likes of The Hermitage at Mt Cook, explaining that it may be more a case of working with the private sector to get new commercial accommodation over the line.

'Accommodation can be critical because to make money from tourism in a region, you need people to say the night.

'So there might be places where they've got the product [attractions], they've got access, but there's not quite enough confidence from the market to build accommodation.'

Milford Sound attracted a million visitors this year and is a prime example of a tourism hot spot that could receive money to alleviate congestion and improve the wharf and other public areas.

Technology projects are also possibilities.

Cossar says a payment system based on a mobile app could allow visitors to easily pay for public transport, camp-grounds, and ablution facilities, while also generating income for local authorities providing them.

Visitors from 60 visa-waiver countries will need to obtain an electronic travel authority (ETA) and pay a $35 a head international visitor levy from October 1. ETA applications have opened and will cost $12 online or $9 via a mobile phone app. Immigration NZ says although visitors should allow 72 hours for processing, many hear back within 5 minutes.

The tourism industry has long bemoaned the lack of accurate visitor data, particularly in the wake of the decision to ditch the commercial accommodation monitor, and the IVL could help fund publicly-available data on the location of amenities and visitor flows.

DOC director general of policy and visitors, Bruce Parkes, says over a five year period conservation's $200m share of the levy will make a significant difference.

Milford Sound facilities such as the wharf could benefit from the international visitor levy.

'This is not for things that we're already funded to do.'

The focus will be on protecting flora and fauna and historic heritage sites, and that may cross over into upgrading visitor facilities.

DOC ranger Glen Currall checks a trap on the Tasman river. (File photo). Kevin Hague from Forest and Bird says the department needs more money so it can conduct predator control on all of the forested part of the public conservation estate.

'Boardwalking over a wetland to protect the biodiversity would be the sort of investment that would achieve both a better visitor experience and better biodiversity outcomes.'

Forest and Bird chief executive Kevin Hague says IVL revenue going to DOC should be spent on natural heritage rather than recreational or other facilities, and while the extra money is welcome, it is still not enough.

'DOC should be able to do pest control over all of the conservation estate and we are a long way off having the resource base to do that. There's no question conservation needs a whole lot more money.

'Whether it's funded from general taxation or from perhaps an even higher visitor levy that doesn't matter.'

By the end of May the Government had committed $263.7m to tourism-related projects though the provincial growth fund, including $75m tagged for basic infrastructure such as public toilets, car parking and rubbish disposal.

Lake Tekapo's new toilet block was opened in 2017 by then Associate Tourism Minister Nicky Wagner and Mackenzie mayor Graham Smith.The latter says the user pay facility raised $16,000 in revenue last year, but cost $30,000 to run.

And despite the IVL finally kicking in, the idea of a further regional visitor levy is gaining traction in the wake of a Queenstown referendum where just over 80 per cent of voters supported the idea.

Mackenzie District mayor Graham Smith is a fan.

With an annual ratio of 300 visitors for every one ratepayer, he says locals are fed up with subsidising tourism, especially with huge bills looming to improve Tekapo's sewerage and waste water systems.

A user-pays trial has had mixed success at Lake Tekapo where three 'pay-to-go' loos were opened with much fanfare in 2017, charging $1 for cash and $1.50 for payWave customers.

Smith says penny-pinching visitors avoid them and last year revenue of $16,000 only covered about half the operating costs.

'My community are saying these pay toilets are making a mess around the place because a lot of people will go behind the toilets and in the bushes rather than pay.'

Charlie Ives heads the body representing 30-plus regional tourism organisations.

He says the IVL will not solve the issue of replacing aging pipes and sewers under pressure from increased tourism, and there is a lot of support for regional tourism levies nationally, rather than just in Queenstown.

'The money would stay in the area where it was charged.'