KEY POINTS:
A compulsory insurance scheme is being suggested as a growing number of tourists get into strife in New Zealand's outdoors and require rescue and medical treatment at the taxpayers' expense.
This month, major aerial rescue operations have twice been launched for foreign visitors who became trapped on Aoraki-Mt
Cook.
Lost trampers are another source of regular work for authorities.
Volunteers do a lot of the search and rescue work, but costs such as the use of helicopters - at about $2000 an hour - and hospital treatment and various other costs have to be picked up by Government agencies such as ACC, the Department of Conservation and police.
An estimate provided to the Herald shows that the Aoraki-Mt Cook search and rescue operation involving Japanese climbers Hideaki Nara and Kiyoshi Ikenouchi at the start of the month will cost taxpayers about $30,000.
Mr Ikenouchi died on the mountain, but Mr Nara was flown off after several days' trying by rescuers.
New Zealand Land Search and Rescue (LandSAR) has about 2500 trained volunteers who give up their own time, and often put their own employment on hold, to do search and rescue work.
LandSAR chairman Phillip Melchior said it was an interesting argument over where the costs should fall.
"I go climbing every year in Switzerland and I have to take out special insurance to do that," he said.
"You can make a very good argument to say that there should be user-pays [in New Zealand] and that tourists should have to take out some sort of insurance. But we have got an ACC system, and the way it is structured at the moment, it makes no distinction between those who are visitors to the country and those that live here."
ACC covers the medical treatment of tourists injured in New Zealand, but the coverage ends when they leave New Zealand.
"It is important to note that tourists often pay some form of ACC levy," an ACC spokesperson said.
"For example, those who hire rental vehicles pay an ACC levy when they buy petrol, so they do pay towards any road-accident related treatment. Those who legally worked while in New Zealand paid levies through their wages."
In return for the ACC cover, overseas visitors forgo the right to sue - as do New Zealanders.
Prime Minister John Key, who is also Tourism Minister, is not in favour of forcing another cost on tourists. "We hope that all tourists going into the more dangerous areas of our country know what they are doing and are as prepared as possible.
"However, imposing an insurance levy on visitors is not something I support. These tourists make a significant contribution to New Zealand's economy. These are challenging economic times, and I do not believe introducing a disincentive for people to travel here is necessary or wise."
An ACC spokesperson said it was likely that recovering the cost of tourists' medical treatment from the visitors themselves, or their insurance firms, would be an expensive exercise.
