Tourism in New Zealand is booming and contributed $14.5 billion to the New Zealand economy in the year to March. This is another piece of good news released by the Tourism Minister and Prime Minister John Key. Or is it?
Right here in Otago, there are signs the booming tourism market is causing some peripheral problems. These are about to become much worse unless there is a redistribution of some of the cash the Government is raking in through tourism being one of New Zealand’s largest generators of overseas funds. The industry now accounts for 20.7% of export earnings.
In Queenstown, for instance, a congestion charge and a visitor levy are two potential funding sources to address the resort’s woeful traffic issues, a draft report prepared by Shaping Our Future says.
A task force of local business and community volunteers has developed a long-term vision for transport and some strong recommendations.
The region is already well aware of the difficulties prospective workers have in finding accommodation at a reasonable cost, and of a reasonable quality. Workers commute daily from Kingston and Cromwell to work in Queenstown. Some are camping in cars at building sites and others are sharing rooms with several people in an effort to survive in the town.
Milford Sound is being inundated with tourists, not a bad thing some would think, except when the facilities are overwhelmed with visitors. Too many people spoil any adventure, especially when they are cramped and crowded into places not built for so many visitors. But the question has always been how to fund the growth in tourism.
Mr Key rightly points to the growth in tourism sector jobs. More than 188,000 people employed in tourism now make up 7.5% of the total workforce. He says the Government is also supporting the tourism sector to manage the pressures this growth can place on some communities, infrastructure and businesses.
It is becoming obvious ratepayers are picking up most of the burden from increasing numbers of visitors arriving in New Zealand. In small town New Zealand, tourist coaches, rental cars and camper vans are parked up at toilet blocks where they do not pay any money towards infrastructure. Too few bother to spend money in the town in which they stay overnight. Freedom camping is causing much anger in some communities. A public toilet block project worth an estimated $800,000 has been approved for Tekapo — and the Government is already being asked to help pay for it.
The Tourism Growth Partnership now has funding to support regional tourism projects and the Regional Mid-Sized Tourism Facilities Grant Fund helps address infrastructure pressures. Any help from the Government will need to be delivered quickly as New Zealand continues to grow as an attractive visitor destination.
Tourism Industry Aotearoa has come up with an innovative way to help relieve some of the pressure. The Tourism Satellite Account, which was released last week, shows the collection of GST from international visitors increased to $1.1 billion in the year to March, a 20.4% increase on the previous year. When GST paid by domestic travellers is included, the total GST take from annual tourism spending has risen to $2.8 billion. Tourism Industry Aotearoa says the figures debunk the myth of visitors not paying their way.
But no matter how it is calculated, the Government’s income from international visitors is many times greater than the costs incurred in attracting and looking after them. No-one is making more money from the tourism boom than Finance Minister Bill English and the Treasury.
With tourism numbers forecast to grow, the Government must help provide the infrastructure to support the growth. The private sector is playing its part. It is now time for Mr Key to play his.
