Grant Webster: Tourism Holdings Limited CEO on the Government's planned changes to conservation law

Tourism operators are gearing up as the Government moves to overhaul conservation law. 

Its newly announced bill would speed up concessions and give more clarity to those wanting to use conservation land for business, research, or charity. 

International tourists would also be charged to visit certain sites, with the funds to be re-invested into nature. 

Tourism Holdings Limited Chief Executive Grant Webster told Ryan Bridge this will hugely benefit operators like jet boat and caving businesses. 

He believes this will create year-round jobs and open up some regions. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's about to get easier for tourism businesses to use
conservation land. Government is introducing the Conservation Reform Bill. It's
also going to allow new international visitor levies at some
of our hot spots. Grant Webster Tourism Holdings Limited, Chief
executive with us this morning. Good a Grant, good morning,
good morning. Good to have you on the show. Use
now this, can you just clarify for us the tourism

(00:20):
businesses and conservation land. What sort of stuff are we
talking here?

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Are you talking anything from jet boating ski? For us,
it's our cave operations in the way Coamon District. There's
so many.

Speaker 1 (00:34):
Yeah, So it's not like we're building factories on conservation land,
is it. It's tourism stuff and it's low impact.

Speaker 2 (00:40):
Absolutely, it's engaging with the environment in a really controlled
and deliberate manner.

Speaker 1 (00:46):
What do you reckon that this will do for jobs?

Speaker 2 (00:50):
I think this is fantastic All credits, Minister po Tucker.
This is long over due, you know, his release noted
it's been over forty years and it's going to I
think create an opportunity for all round, all year round
jobs and really open up some regions as well, one would.

Speaker 1 (01:07):
Hope people are going to freak out about the twenty
to forty dollars levees in some of the places like
you know, Cathedral Cove, Milford Sound. This is very common overseas,
isn't it, Grant, Look, it.

Speaker 2 (01:20):
Is, and it's it's far better for us to have
fees like that that are in trip rather than at
the border, like the International Visitor levy. Once you're in
and going around, you go, okay, looking extra twenty backs
to see Cathedral Cove. Great, yep, that's that's okay. Whereas
you put something in order and people may go, yeah,
I might not go to New Zealand.

Speaker 1 (01:41):
When do you actually pay it? Does the tourism operator
you know taking you on a ride around Cathedral Cove
or on a kayak? Do they charge it? How does
it get paid?

Speaker 2 (01:51):
Look, it's different in different places around the world, and
I don't know what the detail is for this one.
I would hope that we actually wake up do something
simple digital and hopefully Parman of Conservation can do something
like that easy on an app, GEO based and mentoring
this area being on my credit card.

Speaker 1 (02:10):
Done sounds too good to be true, Grant, But let's
hope they can do it. Grant Webster Tourism Holdings Limited,
Chief executively For more.

Speaker 2 (02:17):
From Early Edition with Ryan Bridge. Listen live to news talks.
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