Introduced by different countries in a domino effect over the last decade, the “tourist tax” is typically either charged as part of the electronic authorization required to enter a given country or tacked onto one’s hotel or vacation rental property stay.
The latter is most commonly done in European cities particularly overrun by tourists during the summer — it can range from several euros a day in Spain’s Valencia or 7% of the hotel price and an additional three euros ($3.21 USD) for every night booked in Amsterdam.
Charging non-resident visitors an arrival fee since 2019, the South Pacific nation of New Zealand has tripled this number from NZ$35 (roughly $20 USD) to NZ$100 ($59 USD) in October 2024 as part of an effort to redirect funds toward maintaining places seeing large numbers of tourists.
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‘International tourism comes with costs to local communities’
“International tourism also comes with costs to local communities, including additional pressure on regional infrastructure and higher upkeep and maintenance costs across our conservation estate,” New Zealand’s Minister for Hospitality and Tourism Matt Doocey said in a statement at the time.
Six months later, the Kiwi government once again announced a plan to tax tourists visiting the country — this time, through a fee charged at some of its most popular natural attractions and destinations.
Related: A new country just tripled the tax it charges tourists
The proposal introduced by Prime Minister Christopher Laxon during an August 2 speech would charge between NZ$20 and NZ40 ($12 and 24 USD) at Cathedral Cove, Tongariro Crossing, Milford Track, and Aoraki Mount Cook.
Those sites are visited predominantly by foreign tourists and, according to Laxon and Conservation Minister Tama Potaka, would generate as much as $62 million that would then be put toward their conservation.
While details of the fees would need to be worked out and voted in by lawmakers, the original plan is to have them in place by 2027. They would apply to anyone without a New Zealand permanent residence and be charged independently of the entrance fee.
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‘Entirely fair that at such special locations foreign visitors make an additional contribution’
“It is entirely fair that at such special locations foreign visitors make an additional contribution ranging from 20 to 40 dollars per person,” Laxon said. Potaka further said that the plan is to allow the government “to keep investing in the sites that underpin so much of our tourism sector.”
More on travel:
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- Government issues new travel advisory on popular beach destination
- Another country just issued a new visa requirement for visitors
While welcomed by a portion of New Zealanders, the plan to add yet another tourist tax has been sharply criticized by the local tourism industry.
Representatives periodically argue that the country already fights an uphill battle to attract tourists due to the distance and high cost of getting there from North America and Europe and that additional fees will only perpetuate the country’s image as an inaccessible destination.
The government’s position is that with rising numbers of tourists, the funds generated by previous fees have become insufficient.
In September 2024, NZ Airports CEO Billie Moore called each additional tax “a triple-whammy for our sector, which is trying to work hard for New Zealand’s economic recovery.”
Related: US government issues major travel advisory for an entire continent
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