Brits heading on holiday to a popular destination are set to be hit by a larger tourist tax as the rate is due to change. The levy to enter New Zealand is being hiked up by 65 per cent and will be implemented in days.
The government will implement the tax to get visitors to ‘contribute to public services’. It comes following ongoing recovery to the tourist industry after the Covid pandemic.
Currently, people landing into one of the five international airports across the Māori and English speaking islands contribute NZ$35 towards the “high-quality experiences while visiting”. But from October 1, tourists will face a NZ$100 tourism fee – around £50.
READ MORE: The scandalous truth about Birmingham’s child poverty emergency laid bare
Those boarding from Australia and most Pacific nations will not have to pay. The Tourism Industry Association chief executive, Rebecca Ingram, said: “New Zealand’s tourism recovery [from the Covid-19 pandemic] is falling behind the rest of the world, and this will further dent our global competitiveness.”
Tourism minister, Matt Doocey, said that the tourist tax was needed to ensure “international visitors contribute to high-value conservation areas and projects, such as supporting biodiversity in national parks.”
Data from Stats NZ revealed that visitor numbers are only around 80 per cent of the level before the border closed for the pandemic, The Sun reports. NZ Airports chief executive, Billie Moore, said: “It is a triple-whammy for our sector, which is trying to work hard for New Zealand’s economic recovery.”
Birmingham: A Child Poverty Emergency
Child poverty is soaring in Birmingham and without urgent change, will only get worse. Having worked with charities and community groups, BirminghamLive is campaigning for the following changes to start to turn the tide:
- End the two-child benefit cap
- Provide free school meals to every child in poverty
- Create a city “aid bank” for baby and child essentials
- Protect children’s and youth services
- Create permanent, multi year Household Support Fund and give more Discretionary Housing grants
- Set up child health and wellbeing hubs in our most deprived neighbourhoods
- Appoint a Birmingham child poverty tsar
- Provide free public travel for young people
You can see why in more detail here.
Read our full report Birmingham: A Child Poverty Emergency here.
This post was originally published on here
