Tourism organisations in New Zealand are reeling from a near tripling
of the fee international tourists must pay to enter the country.
The fee will rise from NZ$35 (US$22) to NZ$100 (US$62) at the
beginning of October, an increase that New Zealand’s Tourism Industry
Aotearoa (TIA) has called “a blunt instrument” which could scare off
thousands of tourists.
New Zealand’s International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy
(IVL) is levied to help pay for public services and maintenance of
tourist sites.
Tourism Minister Matt Doocey has defended the IVL increase. He
acknowledged the role of international tourism to New Zealand's economy,
but said it came with a cost to local communities through pressure on
infrastructure and conservation areas.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has also criticised the new levy.
“It has been a double whammy for the New Zealand travel and tourism
sector, starting with New Zealand Immigration announcing steep increases
in visa fees, and now the increase in the IVL.
“These changes make travel to New Zealand more expensive and less
attractive and could further delay the recovery in visitor numbers to
beyond 2026,” said Dr. Xie Xingquan, IATA’s regional vice president for
North Asia and Asia-Pacific.
New Zealand’s cruise industry is also under pressure from climate
change protestors who have been targeting cruise ships docking in the
country.
Activists claim cruise ships are polluting areas in New Zealand such as Fiordland.
Jacqui Lloyd, chief executive of the New Zealand Cruise Association,
has condemned the protests. “We’ve noticed a lot more intimidation from
the protests. The volume of sound from the megaphones and the chants but
also stand-over tactics for staff that work around the port area,” she
said.