Cost of Visiting New Zealand Is About to Spike

Tourist tax to nearly triple to $62 starting next month
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 3, 2024 11:09 AM CDT
Cost of Visiting New Zealand Is About to Spike
In this Oct. 6, 2018 photo a tourist stands on a rock as he looks over Lake Tekapo and the Southern Alps in New Zealand.   (AP Photo/Mark Baker)

New Zealand is preparing to squeeze more out of its foreign visitors with a plan to nearly triple its tourist tax. Starting next month, the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy will climb from about $22 to $62. The move is intended to help economic growth and "ensure visitors contribute to public services and high-quality experiences while visiting New Zealand," the government said, per the BBC. Yet some working in tourism fear the move will hurt the remote South Pacific country instead.

The tourist tax was first introduced in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic upended the travel industry. New Zealand closed its borders and only allowed foreign visitors to return in August 2022. It welcomed 3 million foreign visitors in 2023, about 25% fewer than in the pre-pandemic days. "New Zealand's tourism recovery is falling behind the rest of the world, and this will further dent our global competitiveness," Rebecca Ingram, CEO of Tourism Industry Aotearoa, says of the increased fee. It makes it "incredibly expensive to visit" New Zealand.

The group argues New Zealand will lose tourists to destinations like Canada and the UK, "where flights are more plentiful and entry fees less prohibitive," per CNN. But Tourism Minister Matt Doocey says he's "confident New Zealand will continue to be seen as an attractive visitor destination" as $62 is less than 3% of what most tourists spend while visiting. Tourist visas are also increasing in price from $131 to $211 starting Oct. 1. US travelers are not required to pay the visa fee if they visit New Zealand for tourism purposes and stay no more than three months, per CNN. (More New Zealand stories.)

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