Coromandel tourism authority seeks urgent commitment and $100 tourist fee to address ‘pressure points’

Hot Water Beach is one of the Coromandel's popular tourist attractions, but it comes with costs.

Coromandel’s tourism authority is calling on the Government to make a series of urgent commitments while supporting a $100 International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) fee for tourists.

The Government is weighing up a review of the levy after taking submissions on a proposal to hike fees for international visitors.

The levy was established in 2019 to support a sustainable tourism system in which international visitors contribute to the costs of tourism. Five years after its introduction, the Government said it was time to review the $35 fee.

Four options have been tabled; it remains at $35, increase it to $50, increase it to $70 or increase it to $100.

In a submission to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Destination Hauraki Coromandel (DHC) general manager Hadley Dryden and chairman John Sanford said a levy increase would “buy time” to manage existing pressure points in specific locations while an improved tourism system was developed.

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Department of Conservation attractions that were under pressure should serve as model case studies for destination management solutions, particularly as international visitors were drawn to New Zealand to “experience our unique biodiversity and landscapes”.

It comes a day after Conservation Minister Tama Potaka announced a $5 million boost for a rebuild of Coromandel’s closed Cathedral Cove track.

Potaka said the funds would come from the $35 international levy, charged to most international visitors to New Zealand, aimed at “boosting conservation and tourism”.

The announcement was part of a $25m tourist levy injection for the environment.

International visitor conservation and tourism levy review submissions closed on June 11 with the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) saying it would analyse the submissions it received and publish a summary of them on its website.

A spokesperson for MBIE said: “I’ve checked in with the team and at the moment it’s too early to provide an update, but an announcement will be made in the coming months, so please do watch out for that.”

In their submission, Dryden and Sanford said Coromandel was a popular destination with a low ratepayer base, and that while funding of a successful tourism system was investigated, they supported an increase to $100 for IVL fees.

“Having first committed to meaningful tourism datasets, DHC believes IVL funding should next be used to determine and enable a successful tourism system.

“The IVL alone is not enough to enrich Aotearoa New Zealand as stated by countless tourism strategies.”

Communities and local government were not currently resourced through funding or legislation (accommodation levies, user pays fees), to deliver desired progress.

DHC asked for a commitment to funding enduring access to meaningful tourism data.

Select datasets funded by central government for national, regional and community use would support comparative analysis of trends by time and place, plus likely locations to deliver a return on investment.

“Even though DHC is one of the smaller regional tourism organisations, our performance belies that status; we are acutely aware of the need for a ‘successful visitor system’, to enable our region to both manage existing customer requirements and also enable growth in the delivery of sustainable, resilient visitor experiences.”