New Zealand's tourism levy increase will ""hurt"" its travel and tourism sector, warns IATA

The New Zealand Government has decided to increase the international visitor conservation and tourism levy (IVL). It is a move the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said will ""hurt"" the country's travel and tourism sector. The move follows the New Zealand government increasing visitor visas by 62% from October this year. ""It has been a double whammy for the New Zealand travel and tourism sector, starting with New Zealand Immigration announcing steep increases in visa fees, and now the increase in the IVL,"" said IATA's interim regional vice president for North Asia and Asia-Pacific Xie Xingquan. The IVL is increasing to NZ$100 ($62) from October 1, 2024. It is currently NZ$35 ($21.70). The New Zealand Government argued this sharp increase would ""ensure visitors contribute to public services and high-quality experiences"". The new levy would ""generally make up less than 3% of the total spending for an international visitor,"" argued New Zealand minister for tourism and hospitality Matt Doocey. He further argued the increase is ""unlikely to have a significant impact on visitor numbers"". However, Xingquan warned these increases could make the country ""more expensive and less attractive"" to tourists. He further added that this could ""further delay the recovery in visitor numbers"" to beyond 2026. New Zealand's visitor number recovery has been slow, falling behind major markets that have either surpassed pre-pandemic levels or at least achieved a full recovery. These markets include Australia, Canada, France, Spain, the UK, and the US. IATA had urged the government to stray from increasing IVL during the public consultation process. It also further pushed for the proceeds from the increased IVL to facilitate the decarbonisation of the aviation sector. As of yet, the exact allocation of the additional levy proceeds has not been disclosed. The IVL was first introduced in 2019.