Billie Moore: Airports Association CEO says airports and airlines are united against increasing the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy

Tourism groups aren't pleased with the increase to visitor fees. 

The International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy will rise from $35 to $100 from next month, an increase of nearly 200%. 

Airports Association Chief Executive Billie Moore says that airports and airlines are pretty united in wanting the levy to remain at $35, especially in light of all of the other cost increases that are coming through. 

Moore told Mike Hosking that the problem is that the International Visitor Levy hasn’t been used where it’s meant to have been since 2019. 

She said that it was expected to be used to address visitor pressures in the regions, but no money from this fund has ever made its way to local government. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So the price of coming to the country as a
tourist is going up, that the visitor levy goes from
thirty five to one hundred bucks, And so the great
debate begins. New Zealand Airport Association CEO Billy Moore's well,
this's Billy morning to you.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Good morning.

Speaker 1 (00:11):
The Minister argues, everybody submitted wanted it. Did you submit absolutely?

Speaker 2 (00:16):
We did, yes.

Speaker 1 (00:17):
And did you ask for an increase?

Speaker 2 (00:19):
No? Absolutely, night. So the airports and airlines are pretty
united on this where we asked for it to remain
remain at thirty five dollars, particularly in light of all
of the other cost increases that are coming through on
the border that actually pay for functions like border processing
secretly these things like that. So we didn't see any
case for bumping this up, particularly when what it's actually

(00:42):
used for is not even defined in the consultation.

Speaker 1 (00:47):
Most people did say they wanted an increase. The problem
appears to be many of the people who wanted an increase,
they'd say, how about fifty bucks, not one hundred, and
the hundred is the one that's killed it. Is that fair?
Is in your estimation?

Speaker 2 (01:00):
It is fair? They're right there in the submissions process
that you know, a lot of individuals submitted wanting visitors
to pay more. I think ultimately we have a bit
of an attitude problem about tourists which has permeated government
agencies thinking as well over the years, where they're very
much focused on how to get visitors to pay more
more at the border and into the crown, rather than

(01:23):
getting visitors to pay more into the economy, which would
better contribute to businesses and jobs around the region.

Speaker 1 (01:28):
Well, listening to Ducie yesterday, there's one hundred and something
million going into the regions and they're the national parks
and the facilities that the tourists use. That's good, isn't it.

Speaker 2 (01:37):
Look any money that goes into the regions is good.
The problem is that this international Visitor Levy hasn't been
used where it's meant to have been used since twenty nineteen,
So no money has ever made its way to local
government from this fund, and that's what it was expected
to be used for. So addressed the visitor preators in
those locations.

Speaker 1 (01:58):
Takes that bit, would you be more on board?

Speaker 2 (02:02):
Look, maybe under previous circumstances we'd be more open to that,
but under the current circumstances where visas have already gone
up so much where it's now costing visitors double even
last year to cross the border and it's seventy percent
more expensive then Australia. So our problem is that while

(02:23):
there might be some good intentions by some of this stuff,
ultimately we could lose out on the GST spend and
the visitor spend that we actually want in the economy
rather than at being scooped up at the border for
these Crown funds.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
I appreciate your inside. There's always Billy Moore, who's the
New Zealand Airport's Association Chief executive.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
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Speaker 1 (02:45):
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