BUSINESS NEWS Tourism Society Scotland symposium: ‘Tourism 2030 and Beyond’. Ian Taylor reports
New Zealand moots hiking visitor tourism levy to £52
Ian Taylor
The New Zealand government is considering hiking its levy on visitors to NZ$100 (£52) as the country reopens to tourists. The government’s Department of
Conservation also plans to ban cruise ships from Milford Sound, tear up its airstrip and set tourism quotas for its leading natural attraction. New Zealand introduced an
International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) of NZ$35 (£18) in July 2019. Professor Susanne Becken of the Department of Conservation said: “This was predicted to raise NZ$50 million in the first five years. However, visitors stopped during the pandemic.” She told a Tourism Society
Scotland symposium at Edinburgh Napier University: “Now the discussion is about increasing this to maybe NZ$100.” Becken insisted: “The levy is not
going away because it is important visitors contribute. Mainstream tourism is really extractive.” She noted “sustainable tourism is about doing no harm” but suggested
Nicholls warns next 18 months ‘difficult’ for UK hospitality
The recovery in UK hospitality was “largely pre-booked and prepaid” during the pandemic and not the product of new bookings, leaving the outlook for the rest of the year
travelweekly.co.uk
that what is needed from the sector is “regenerative tourism” that is “restorative” of the environment and communities. Becken argued: “There is a lot of discussion about what is a ‘high-value visitor’, but that is not a good way to look at it. The system needs to be designed in a way that visitors make a difference.” She added: “We have a problem
with ‘last chance tourism’, for example with the Great Barrier Reef. It’s not helpful and it’s not a long-term solution. It would be better to market tourism as helping ‘restore’ a destination.” Becken outlined the Department
of Conservation’s plans for Milford Sound on the west coast of South
Kate Nicholls
Island as part of work to develop a ‘values-based tourism system’, noting: “It is in an environmentally fragile region and has suffered overtourism.” A new scheme will set visitor
quotas and require bookings to visit Milford Sound. The airstrip will be torn up and cruise ships barred to “symbolise the shift”. Becken acknowledged it
would be a challenge to maintain momentum as tourism resumes, saying: “New Zealand is opening. Businesses are keen to get visitors in. Can we maintain all this? Can we make sure it is not either tourism or the environment? Only the future will tell.”
will be as difficult to navigate as Covid. Things are not going to settle down. Change and instability will be the new normal for hospitality.” Nicholls told a Tourism
“unclear”, according to UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls. She warned: “The next 18 months
Society Scotland symposium in Edinburgh: “It’s difficult to predict how consumers will react to 10% inflation. You have to go back 40 years to recall as inflationary a cycle. “Demand is strong, as is the
Milford Sound, New Zealand
Covid rates ‘to keep falling but winter is concern’
Covid rates should continue to decline “at a rapid rate” through the remainder of the spring and summer, but health officials remain worried about the winter. That is according to
Professor Linda Bauld of the University of Edinburgh, who is chief social policy advisor to the Scottish government. Bauld reminded members
of Tourism Society Scotland: “People are still dying from Covid. There is still a high level of infection – half of us had the infection between September and February.” But she said “the decoupling of infection from severe disease due to vaccines and treatments” had sharply reduced the death rate. Now, she said: “We expect it
[the level of infection] to decline at a rapid rate. We expect the spring and summer to be good.” However, Bauld warned:
“We’re worried about the winter. We don’t know whether the next variant of concern will be more infectious. We can look ahead with more confidence [and hopefully] be better prepared.”
willingness and confidence to travel. [But] we’re looking at a two to three-month booking window for international visitors when it was 12- 15 months previously and that will stick because of the cost of living.” She noted: “Volumes remain
stubbornly below 2019. April provided the first clear view of trading, but the recovery in the second half of this year is unclear.”
12 MAY 2022 47
PICTURE: Shutterstock/JannikO
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