foreigners pay double on southern great walks
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12063439
Wow, the family of four from California we met on the Routeburn would be paying $520 a night for the two nights. I can see that just meaning that they would not do the walk if they have kids, which would be a real shame as those kids loved the trip. Not sure if it’s going to mean more kiwis do these walks, or just more cashed up overseas singles or couples. Should definitely boost the money DoC brings in since 90% of the walkers the two times I’ve walked the RB were foreigners
And the American family having " a holiday by the lake" at Moturau (Kepler Track, lakeside Lake Manapouri) last Spring.
Remembering back, the lost generated by the great walks was more a paper lost, rather than a real lost. While there might be a case to charge foreigners more, claiming they need the higher fees to cover costs is a bit of a red herring.
three of those great walks have guided companies paying large concession fees to have clients stay overnight in private accommodation on the tracks... i dont know how much but a ranger said they paid DOC a lot of money...
they helicoptered gravel across the highest stretch of the routeburn, covering kilometres of track with it... theres money coming from somewhere, or maybe the guided company paid for it outright, you pay $1200 each minimum for a guided overnight walk, more if you upgrade your room.... so they have no shortage of money coming in, theres plenty of money available that could go to DOC..
I wonder how they will define and police the concept of 'foreigner', and implement it with an online booking system? At least NZ kids under 16 are still free, must try and get me and the kids around all the Great Walks before the are too old or they change that rule.
I do feel this 'the Great Walks are losing money even with these high fees' line is an accounting con job. From memory they were covering operating costs and depreciation on assets out of revenue, they only went into minus when they took into account 'use of money charge' or whatever you call it, ie. they were making a profit, just not as much as you would get if you invested that money in a well performing investment. If they're going to do that they need to take some account of all the other spend these people make while in NZ while here to walk a track, GST collected on all they spend before and after a trip.
@Ian_H: "Proof of eligibility will be required for the New Zealand rate (such as a New Zealand drivers licence, utility bill or a copy of a passport)."
Any person who comes to NZ and has a drivers license can convert it to a NZ driving license for $52, takes a couple of weeks… I bet a few people will see that it's just cheaper to get a NZ drivers license and get 50% off the 4 most popular great walks…
I don't really get DOC's pricing though, for $140 a night I would expect hot showers, meal and breakfast included, because for half the price that's what you get in most alpine huts in other countries… This is just a rip-off here. It will just change the great walks to something only suited to rich people, this is sad.
Regarding the pricing, the place we are staying in this weekend in Northland is $190 /night for a family of 4. For that we have 4 Star facilities, full beds, hot showers, kitchen, privacy. Four of us on the Routeburn would be $520 if we were foreigners. I’d be expecting the ranger to make me a cup of coffee at least! The Abel Tasman is likely to get even more people trying to evade payment, it’s already a major problem there. How can they enforce the rules for on-line bookings? Will all hut and camp tickets need to be picked up, as per Routeburn etc?
1 deleted post from
Forest823
>three of those great walks have guided companies paying large concession fees to have clients stay overnight in private accommodation on the tracks… i dont know how much but a ranger said they paid DOC a lot of money…
Guess 'a lot of money' is subjective. But the one talk I went to on the subject the amount going to DOC per guided walker per day seemed very low compared to comparable concessions overseas (which were the subject of the talk).
As always some reported figures rather than vague suspiscions (such as I'm supplying here) would be nice.
Because (back on topic) it would be nice to know if commercial guided walkers are paying their share for track, structure, etc maintenance.
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| Forum | Tracks, routes, and huts |
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| Started by | waynowski |
| On | 2 June 2018 |
| Replies | 42 |
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