New tourism minister is industry’s fifth in five years

Thursday, 23 January 2025

The tourism industry is New Zealand’s second largest export earner.

Tourism leaders won’t weigh in on why the country’s first tourism minister with a dedicated hospitality sector focus has been swapped out in a cabinet reshuffle, but say any minister in the role needs to urgently address static international visitor numbers.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s cabinet reshuffle on Sunday came with a change of the minister in charge of tourism and hospitality. The portfolio had been held by Waimakariri MP Matt Doocey, but Luxon has named Taupo MP Louise Upston as the new minster.

Official reasons are rarely given for such a swap. What Luxon did say was that the coming year was about going for growth, and the refreshed team would focus on unleashing economic growth to make people better off, and creating more opportunities for business.

“Tourism and hospitality is a critical industry for promoting growth and employment in regional New Zealand.”

Senior cabinet minister Louise Upston is the tourism industry’s fifth minister in five years.

The tourism industry is the country’s second largest export earner.

Upston will be the industry’s fifth minister in five years, after Kelvin Davis, Stuart Nash, and Peeni Henare under Labour, and Doocey under National.

Hotel Council Aotearoa strategic director James Doolan told The Post tourism needed some stability and consistency of support, especially as it was still recovering from the battering it took under Covid.

“It is encouraging that a senior cabinet minister now has the portfolio and, hopefully, the new minister has the backing of the prime minister and her colleagues.”

But it was important that the minister had a laser-like focus on growth and tackled some of the complex issues plaguing the industry, he said.

“Because New Zealand appears to be stuck at about 85% of pre-Covid arrival numbers, and we are not doing enough to attract back international travellers.

“We are not laying out the welcome mat for them, instead we are making it more difficult and more expensive for people to come here.

New Zealand needs to lay out the welcome mat to attract more tourists, the Hotel Council Aotearoa’s James Doolan says.

“It is not good enough that central government investment in Tourism NZ has gone backwards over the last decade, even though we have gone through a global pandemic.”

There were problems with the way tourism was funded, and suggestions money from the recently increased international visitor levy might be directed away from tourism were concerning, he said.

“That is the exact opposite to what is needed. We need to fully tackle the funding issues, and resolve problems around local government funding towards tourism, because it is unfair to expect private operators to carry the can when they have not returned to pre-Covid levels of profit.”

Doolan said he was keen to work with the new minister to address the issues holding back the industry.

Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Rebecca Ingram was looking forward to working with the new minister to enable tourism that brought wide reaching benefits to the regions, the environment and the broader economy.

She said the association was particularly keen to see continuation of initiatives, such as the Tourism Growth Roadmap and progress on key issues.

Those issues were ensuring New Zealand was globally competitive, sustainable tourism funding for tourism-related infrastructure, workforce development and the intersection between conservation and tourism.

The hospitality sector contributes over $14 billion to the national economy, the Restaurant Association says.

Ingram said the tourism industry had huge potential, and she was delighted to see such a strong focus on economic growth potential as a result of the reshuffle.

She thanked the outgoing minister for his support and commitment to hearing directly from the industry, and said he had travelled extensively to hear from tourism businesses what was important to them.

“Minister Doocey recognised that good information is essential, and made positive decisions to invest in tourism data that will enable businesses and regions by providing essential information.”

Doocey was the first minister to have a dedicated responsibility for the hospitality sector as part of his portfolio.

Hospitality New Zealand chief executive Steve Armitage said Doocey had done a great job of bringing attention to the important role hospitality plays, and creating real momentum for our industry.

“We particularly acknowledge his work on the Hospitality Summit in December, where important steps were taken to address challenges and unlock new opportunities for growth. His efforts have laid a strong foundation for the future.”

With significant opportunities on the horizon, the sector was looking forward to partnering with the new minister to deliver tangible outcomes that benefited industry participants and the communities they served, he said.

The Restaurant Association said hospitality was key to country’s economic growth, and it was pleased to see the promotion of the portfolio within cabinet.

“Hospitality contributes over $14 billion to the national economy, and we welcome the prime minister’s recognition of the importance of a strong and thriving hospitality industry to economic growth.”