Tourism Minister says previous tourism mannequin should go

Tourism Minister Stuart Nash promises targeted support for weak tourism companies, but with a warning – the old model is not sustainable and has to go.

In a speech this morning in Queenstown, Nash revealed some details about what that support could be, adding that it will likely target specific regions – the West Coast of the South Island, Queenstown, Fiordland, Aoraki Mt Cook, Kaikōura.

He later told the media that proposals for assistance, yet to be signed by the Cabinet, included working capital to bring tourism businesses out of hibernation when international visitors returned to New Zealand, business advice and funding to implement that advice, a fund to set up a fund Supporting Regions Diversifying tourism-oriented economies and supporting mental health.

He added that he did not intend to limit the number of international tourists, but wanted to see higher prices for them than for locals, which already applies to accommodation on the Great Walks.

This could include entrance fees to national parks and nature reserves for foreign visitors, but not for kiwis.

And he wanted to see changes to the international tourist tax, which is currently $ 35.

“It excludes Australians. We are missing a trick here. Australians blame kiwis. Why shouldn’t we blame Australians? This is being worked on and no decisions have been made.”

Nash added that the government is working to allow local authorities to introduce a bed tax, which Queenstown is keen to see if it so wishes.

“The goal is to ensure that people who come to New Zealand spend money in ways that add to their experience but also add value to our communities.”

He said a trans-Tasman travel bubble the industry is desperately looking for is likely to open this year, while borders with the rest of the world are expected to reopen in 2022.

When the faucet came back on for international visitors, a new model of tourism was needed.

“It can’t go back to the way it was. It’s not sustainable, it’s not resilient … The world was changed by Covid-19, and that’s why we have to change with it,” said Nash in his speech.

“In some places the industry began to undermine its social operating license and as a result lost community support for continued growth as we saw it.

“Maybe we had passed the tipping point at some important points, not to deliver our global brand ‘100% Pure’.”

Queenstown, in particular, has struggled to keep control of problems brought about by mass tourism, such as traffic congestion, room rates, traffic accidents and staff shortages.

“The Mood of the Nation study conducted for the tourism industry in November 2019 found that 78 percent of residents here are more likely to believe that international visitors are exerting too much pressure,” said Nash.

Research for Tourism NZ found that with no international visitors, New Zealand faced a revenue gap of $ 12.9 billion a year.

Domestic tourism spending rose 24 percent to $ 1.17 billion in January this year compared to January 2020, but total visitor spending declined 11 percent overall.

The government has already allocated $ 400 million to tourism recovery, including $ 299 million in grants and loans to 130 businesses and $ 20.2 million to New Zealand’s 31 regional tourism organizations.

Nash pledged further assistance but ruled out regional wage subsidies or grants or loans from the Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Program.

Aid would go to the regions most dependent on international tourism, he said.

The government will also support tourism workers with conservation or infrastructure work, he added.

“We will not leave our worst-hit communities behind.”

He reiterated aspects of the vision he outlined late last year, including a revamp of the Freedom Camping, changes to the international visitor tax to ease the financial burden on the local communities they visit, and partnerships with businesses, workers and Māori focused on productivity focused and sustainability.

A discussion document on freedom camping is due shortly, he said.

“People who travel around sleeping in unlocked vehicles are not part of our global value proposition, not part of our brand. They do not represent the values ​​we represent as a country and I don’t think they add much value.”

National Party Tourism spokesman Todd McClay said Nash should have come up with something more specific.

“National has been calling for targeted assistance for months. Mr. Nash should have used his trip to Queenstown to announce a support package for hard-hit tourism companies until a travel bubble opens with Australia.

“The lack of a government plan will result in more jobs being lost in a sector that is already in trouble.”

Earlier this week, National Party leader Judith Collins said the death of Queenstown would be in the hands of the prime minister if Jacinda Ardern did not open a quarantine-free trans-Tasman bubble.

Cabinet is expected to consider a bubble start date on Monday, but Ardern said yesterday that it did not want to give a schedule until a date is set.

A protest was slated to greet Nash in Queenstown this morning, but he was scrapped after news articles appeared that the cabinet would be considering the Trans-Tasman bubble on Monday.

Text by Derek Cheng, NZ Herald