Thanks to great airfare deals, low cost carriers, and Instagram feeds showing off incredibly beautiful places around the world, many countries are starting to see more tourists than ever.
As a result, this is starting to tax the system of some of these countries, including some of their natural resources (like this beach in Thailand that has closed).
Visiting New Zealand Is About to Get a Little More Expensive
New Zealand is attempting to stave off some of this expense as they voted to start charging tourists from around the world a tax for visiting their country.
What Is The New Zealand Tax and Who Will Pay?
This tax, of about $17 – $24 per person, is expected to start being charged next year. It will apply for visitors from all countries except those citizens of Australia and nearby Pacific Islands.
They expect to use this tax, which they say could be as much as $42 million to $54 million per year, to shore up part of their infrastructure in areas popular with tourists.
How Will This Tax Work?
New Zealand says they will be bringing an electronic travel authorization system online soon and that the tax will be charged to tourists when they apply for their visas/authorizations. Being that it will be a system like that, it should eliminate confusion by people in not having to deal with the tax upon arrival or departure.
There are some countries that charge a tax at the airport and that can be confusing, especially when they require it in a certain currency! Still other countries have exit fees but those are often rolled into the cost of your airline ticket.
Takeaway
For most Americans, visiting New Zealand is a trip that will already be costing them well over $1,000 per person to get there and home (unless you use miles!). Having to pay a $24 tax on top of that amount isn’t going to be a terrible thing and if it helps to keep New Zealand beautiful, I guess it will be worth it!
Source: CNN
Featured image courtesy of Marcus Holland-Moritz (https://www.flickr.com/photos/mhx/16965192965/) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
If New Zealand is cheap to begin with, $20 isn’t too bad, I guess. If the living standard is high and it is expensive, this makes little to no sense. The economic activity from the tourists more than cover the infrastructure upkeep. As you pointed out, it’s already $1,000 to fly there. JMTC.
Do not understand the part that says when you apply for a visa authorization you will be charged the new tax. I’ve been to NZ 4 times and have never had to apply for a visa or any other type of tourist visa being from the US. So it’s not really a tax it’s the cost of a tourist visa which will be implemented if you’re from the states now?
From what I understand, they will be putting an electronic visitor authorization system into place. I don’t think they are calling it a “visa” necessarily as that would come with certain restrictions and requirements but more a registration and payment of the fee before travel.
With such a system, the airline would be able to tell when they scan your passport that you have paid it.
It could end up being something like Australia’s system as well, though that is a visa.
[…] Visiting New Zealand Is About to Get a Little More Expensive by Running With Miles. I always think these taxes are counter productive as you’re making a lot of money from tourists anyway and even a small tax is likely to put off some visitors from visiting. At least they are spending it on tourist infrastructure I guess? […]
[…] Visiting New Zealand Is About to Get a Little More Expensive by Running With Miles. I always think these taxes are counter productive as you’re making a lot of money from tourists anyway and even a small tax is likely to put off some visitors from visiting. At least they are spending it on tourist infrastructure I guess? […]