Saturday, June 16, 2018
New Zealand’s Labour-led government said that it plans to impose a tax on most international visitors in order to fund infrastructure and ease strains on its booming tourist sector.
The new tax of up to NZ$35 ($24.40) per person will be imposed in mid-2019, which is the middle of the official “China New Zealand Year of Tourism”, and is expected to provide an extra NZ$57 million to NZ$80 million ($39.7 million-$55.8 million) a year to fund conservation and infrastructure.
“It’s only fair that they make a small contribution so that we can help provide the infrastructure they need and better protect the natural places they enjoy,” said New Zealand Minister for Tourism Kelvin Davis.
Neighboring Australia, which is New Zealand’s top source of visitors, would be exempt from the tax but other major sources of tourism would be charged, including China, the United States and the United Kingdom.
A record surge in tourism in the past four years has fueled New Zealand’s impressive economic growth but has left its infrastructure straining. Locals have also complained of once-tranquil nature walks becoming crowded with people and strewn with rubbish.
