DoC to charge visitors more on Great Walks
Original post
"Conservation Minister Maggie Barry told a meeting at the National Party annual conference on Saturday that part of the $76 million in Budget funding for the Department of Conservation would be spent on a new computer system to enable "differential pricing", allowing DOC to charge international tourists more than New Zealanders when they booked walks on tracks such as the Milford, Routeburn and Kepler.
Referring to recent calls for a levy on arriving international visitors, Barry said: "We won't be putting a border tax on, that's not how we roll.
"But what we are doing with that new computer system, which is part of that $76m, we are investing into a modern, fit-for-purpose DOC computer system to take bookings.
"We will be doing differential charging so visitors who actually use our estates (as opposed to visitors who just come to New Zealand who don't actually go out into the DOC estate) but visitors who actually go on our walks will be paying more – substantially more - to access the huts than New Zealanders."
https://www.newsroom.co.nz/2017/06/25/35804/foreign-trampers-to-pay-higher-prices
Has anyone thought this through? What is the ROI on spending $76m to charge overseas visitors more on just the Great Walks? Because while Barry has referenced a couple of well-known tracks, she's left the door wide open to a booking system that charges for ALL hut access. And that doesn't feel right either.
What it does feel like is another step along the path of commercialising DoC as a state owned tourism operation. It will do nothing to address the much wider and chronic underfunding of DoC in terms of it's conservation role, and in the huts themselves it creates a 'two class' system of visitors and locals.
I still much prefer a border tax; small and efficient. The vast majority of visitors to this country are here because of the Conservation estate to some degree.
35 comments
if we all juswt paid for what we used the world would be in a sorry state, we have access to the resources of a nation, they are available, if you're not going to use them so be it, but dont just expect a few people to pick up the tab for everything
our rural areas would be a lot poorer off if everything was just user pays, I know its not "fair and qeuitable" but charging all tourists to NZ and spreading the money around all areas of the nation that are impacted by tourists is probably the way to go. how much is it going to cost to police tracks and huts to make sure people arent escaping charges?
It looks like Maggie Barry was indicating the pricing could rise until it curbs the over-demand on bookable Great Walks. Not saying that solves DoC's funding, just THAT'S what she's indicating.
Easy to maintain a warden at large, expensive locations.
Lake Angelus, in Nelson Lakes Park, is always Wardened. I would suggest Blue Lake would also a profitable outpost as it's both an end destination and a through-point.
Plenty of Volunteer Wardens circulate through the season eg Meuller Hut, Mt Somers.
Given we can't even seem to get many identified tourists to pay camping and parking fines from next to public roads before they leave the country, how much can an individual warden in a remote location actually do if a problem person or group simply refuses to cooperate, and/or gives false details?
great walks are only in unique areas, they are a great way to start tramping with the kids... but for the average family its getting out of reach to do now as it is... its going back towards the days of the govt owned Tourist Hotel Corporation which had exclusive control of access to the milford track, you had to either pay for a luxury experience in bush hotels or you werent allowed to walk the track till the otago tramping club illegaly freedom walked and camped on the track to get it back for the masses.
imagine what foreigners would think when they ask a kiwi tramper if they've done the great walks and the answer is that they cant afford it... are we going to end up with walks like golf courses exclusively for people from one foreign country?
we need to fight against the direction the govt is going in, they are steadily undermining our conservation infrastructure in so many ways, today its the great walks, but everything is heade in one direction, privatisation and commercialisation of greater parts of the conservation estate.... you also have the kepler track that has regular summer low level overflights by tourist helicopters, i got buzzed by a helicopter three times in two hours at times within the legal 500ft limit of people on the ground. i complained to DOC and the CAA, DOC told me to go and walk in a wilderness area if i wanted to get away from being buzzed by helicopters, I never heard back from the CAA, i complained a year and a half ago
They don't seem to say how they will make the distinction between tourists and locals. Hopefully this will include any people who live in NZ, even though we don't have a resident visa…
They ARE talking about a differential NZ/foreigner pricing.
I already get a discounted Annual Hut Pass through my FMC membership. I guess proof would be required to get the discounted price ?.
Already Kiwi families are missing out due to over-booking.
It's hard on the budget backpackers, but we can't all afford trips on Everest or passenger space flight either.
And, they're only talking about the Great Walks (so far).
the national govt are all about "Mission Creep" they are heading in one direction, as much user pays as possible, stuff the poor, show me the money, they keep changing things for the worse, more volunteers to do DOC work, strangle the conservation budget, and i mean "conservation" not eco tourism in the dept of conservation..
lay off the scientists who can call out the politicians for their commercial policies and the negative effects on conservation.
govts like this one are a death knell to endangerd species and native forests, there isnt much good going to come out of this govt toward conservation. having a gardner as minister of conservation isnt the answer either
I'm not a fan of differential charging, mostly because I think it's about politics more than effect, but for as long as it's happening then I hope it's done primarily on legal residency in the country rather than citizenship. Voting's a great example: You don't need to be a Citizen to vote in NZ. You just need to be legally residing in NZ, for a year or more, with no end date on your visa. This is inclusive of permanent residents and Australians who live here legally (work, pay taxes, have to live with the consequences of government, blah blah). For comparison, even citizens who haven't been back to NZ recently cannot vote.
There's just so much un-said about this charging thing, probably because no clear decisions have yet been made. For example, are we all going to be required to start carrying proof of identity, maybe also proof of residency, when using facilities in the back-country?
Enforcement's also a big question. Hut fees already don't work very well in many places because enforcement is such a problem, so is anything going to change in that respect? If so, how much does it cost to implement? Or do we stick with the plan of just charging higher and higher amounts to honest people to cover the dishonest people?
@izogi
You touch on a good point. Working is Aus means that I don't vote in either country. Not many people realise just how many New Zealanders are effectively disenfranchised like this.
You're right. It is a politically guided initiative. So would be a blanket tax on airport arrivers. Depends on your politics.
I haven't looked into how hut wardens are supposed to deal with transgressors. I know that when extra people turned up at the Heaphy Hut last Summer, which was already fully booked, extra mattresses were found to accommodate them. Between those who stay up late those who get up early, there was not a lot of sleep time in the dining hall.
The OP was about Maggie Barry saying the Great Walks are undervalued & prices could afford to be hiked (excuse the pun).
Similarly, we're deluged by Freedom Campers/Squatters, some of whom who think NZ is a cheap getaway that can be exploited & treated as an open toilet/rubbish dump.
How about concert tickets that get snapped up within minutes & re-appear at scalper prices moments later ?. If they were released onto TradeMe in the first instance, they would sell at their true value to those that wanted them that much. Auckland housing. Gangs monopoly on marijuana.
It's about the true value of things in limited supply.
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| Forum | The campfire |
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| Started by | PhilipW |
| On | 26 June 2017 |
| Replies | 34 |
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