NZ Herald Friday 14 April 2017 Tash McGill explains why tourist taxes and pillow payments are a bad idea for New Zealand.
I am astounded by the parochial attitude of New Zealanders who would support further taxes on tourism. It’s almost as astonishing as the proposed “pillow tax” for Auckland. For a country that throws up its arms about invoking any other user-pays system, there seem to be a disproportionate number who welcome the idea of making tourists pay for the infrastructure our country so desperately needs.
No, I know there are parts of the industry who are also dismayed, but what grinds my gears are those New Zealanders who genuinely seem to view tourists as some sort of imposition and mistakenly assume that all tourists are foreigners, instead of a decent portion of Kiwis getting out and about in their own great country.
Shall we start with the pillows? Here’s how that debate played out in a conversation with potential travellers just last week. Cashed-up and ready to go, they were making a choice based on bang for buck between New Zealand and Australia. Just the kind of visitor we love, this environmentally sensitive and culture-loving foodie 30-something couple knew they were in for a long-haul flight and no matter who they flew — from West Coast US it’s between $1500-$2000 per person. Read more…
