If you’re looking to get to know New Zealand, take advantage of the rest of September. October will bring a huge price hike for trips to the island nation. In order to ensure that tourists help pay for public services, and in line with other major destinations that have decided to or are considering increasing their taxes on the sector, the New Zealand Government has agreed to significantly increase the tax it charges foreign visitors. And “significant” is an understatement. From one day to the next, the rate will nearly triple.

The industry is already warning that this is not a good idea.

New month, new price. This was just announced by the coalition government led by the New Zealand National Party. From October, the amount of the International Visitor Protection and Tourism Levy, known as the IVL, will change. And it definitely will. 1 will increase from the current 35 New Zealand dollars (NZD) to 100 on Tuesday. Converted to euros, this means the rate will increase from 19.6 to 56. It will almost triple.

You can find details of the IVL on the Immigration New Zealand website . It’s basically an entrance fee for tourists to “contribute to the conservation of the country’s facilities and natural environment”. Of course, not everyone pays this fee. For example, the tax doesn’t apply to domestic travellers or those with a resident visa or passport from Australia and other Pacific Island countries. The government also recently announced that it will increase visa fees on October 1.

Visits, contribution. That’s the logic put forward by the New Zealand Administration, which says the increase in IVL will ensure visitors “contribute to high-quality public services and experiences” during their stay in the country. Tourism Minister Matt Doocey acknowledged that international tourism plays a “very important role” in the country’s economy, with foreign travellers expected to spend more than NZ$11 billion in one year alone – between March 2023 and the same month in 2024.

The Minister of Tourism says: “But international tourism also results in costs for local communities, including additional pressure on regional infrastructure and higher costs for conservation area maintenance and protection.” Visitors contribute directly to these costs, the majority of which are met by taxpayers.

Controlled damage? Raising tourist taxes is always a risky move, especially in a destination whose location in the South Pacific requires potential travellers from many parts of the world to purchase expensive airfare. But the New Zealand government assures that it has carefully considered the impact of triggering the IVL. And they argue that it will be less.

“The new tax remains competitive with countries such as Australia and the UK and we are confident that New Zealand will continue to be an attractive destination for many visitors from around the world,” Doocey emphasised. A consultation conducted by the Department of Business Innovation and Employment confirmed that 93% of respondents supported increasing the tourism tax.

No deterrent effect. 1 News network assures that increasing the tax to $ 100 will reduce demand minimally (only 2.4%), while an increase of $ 70 per passenger will offset the cost of tourism, according to government data. Not all of them have a “deterrent” effect.

“A $100 IVL typically accounts for less than 3% of an international visitor’s total spend during their stay in New Zealand, meaning it is unlikely to have a significant impact on visitor numbers.”

“Bad policy”The tourism industry disagrees. Tourism Industry Aotearoa warns that the rate hike is adding another barrier to entry for tourists, on top of the usually expensive cost of airfare. As a result, they warn that getting to know New Zealand is “incredibly expensive”. “New Zealand’s tourism recovery is lagging behind the rest of the world, and that will further damage our global competitiveness,” complains Rebecca Ingram, the association’s director, to the BBC.

The New Zealand Airports Association also fears the significant increase in IVL could “consolidate” the country as “one of the world’s most expensive holiday destinations”. “This isn’t just about us, it’s just bad news,” Billie Moore, the association’s New Zealand network manager, told 1 News. “We struggle to understand how this can make sense from a government that wants to be so ‘pro-business and pro-growth’.”

Recovering from COVID. Like other countries, New Zealand has been looking for ways to boost tourism levels after the pandemic hit the sector. In fact, the country didn’t fully open its borders until the summer of 2022, almost two years after it closed in March 2020 to protect itself from COVID. This recovery has been plagued by challenges such as airline capacity and the behavior of the Chinese market.

Statista tables show that although a noticeable increase in international travel has been recorded this year, this is still significantly below the pre-pandemic level, as the comparison between June 2023 and 2024 shows.

Images | Bernard Spragg.NZ (Flickr) and Aaron Sebastian (Unsplash)

In Xataka | Italy has come up with an idea to avoid being overwhelmed by mass tourism: higher prices and more space for travelers