119 days ago

Hurunui council boss calls for tourist levy rise

Nicole Mathewson Reporter from The Press

By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter

Funding infrastructure for tourist towns has no simple solution, says Hurunui District Council chief executive Hamish Dobbie.

North Canterbury towns Hanmer Springs and Kaikōura are small communities which punch above their weight to service tourists.

Dobbie said the cost of providing additional infrastructure such as toilets and rubbish bins was largely borne by ratepayers.

‘‘We appreciate visitors bring money into the local economy and sometimes we need to do things infrastructure-wise to support that.

‘‘We don’t necessarily want that to be borne by ratepayers, but the cost has to be picked up somewhere.’’

While local ratepayers may not use the public toilets or rubbish, there were benefits with visitors spending money in the local community and improved environmental outcomes.

Local Government New Zealand took the opportunity to promote its message of the need for alternative funding tools, during last week’s local government conference in Wellington.

A number of councils have been calling for accommodation and tourism levies, with a recent opinion poll suggesting there was public support.

But Dobbie said accommodation and tourism levies would provide limited benefit in Hanmer Springs and he preferred raising the International Visitor Levy, which charged visitors at the border.

‘‘If you just take the money where the tourists sleep, does that really enhance tourism infrastructure overall.’’

Alternatively, a levy collected at the border could be distributed where it was needed or where there were opportunities, he said.

The Mackenzie District Council increased its rates by one percent so it could clean its public toilets twice a day.

Dobbie said a bed tax might make little difference as few of those visitors may stay the night in the district.

Tourism Minister Matt Doocey said Tourism New Zealand was reviewing the International Visitor Levy and an announcement would be made soon on whether it will be increased.

While the levy was set $35 per visitor, options were being considered to increase it to as much as $100 per visitor.

The levy did not apply to Australians or Pacific Islanders.

Doocey said he was aware there was strong support for an accommodation levy, but the Government had yet to make a decision.

He said the Government had an ambitious agenda to double export earnings.

‘‘Tourism is our second biggest export earner, so there is potential for growth.

‘‘I have tasked Tourism New Zealand with increasing earnings by $5 billion.’’

He said this could be achieved by increasing visitor numbers during off-peak periods when tourism infrastructure was ‘‘under-utilised’’.

■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.

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More messages from your neighbours
2 hours ago

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13 days ago

⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️

The Team from SPCA New Zealand

It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:

👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️

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5 days ago

Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.

If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?

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Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
  • 61.8% Summer
    61.8% Complete
  • 36.5% Winter
    36.5% Complete
  • 1.7% Other - I'll share below
    1.7% Complete
1330 votes