Kahu Kayaks operator, Andrew McFarland talks to Mike Hosking about the Department of Conservation's price hike on trail huts
The Department of Conservation will hike up prices for overseas tourists on four of the nine Great walks.
In some cases foreign tourists could be paying twice as much as Kiwis for access to tracks.
The move would give Kiwi walkers cheaper access to walks and preferential treatment to DoChuts.
From the beginning of the 'Great Walks Season' (23 October) overseas visitors will be paying $140 a night to stay in huts on the Milford Track, whereas New Zealand citizens are paying half that, at $70 a night. Another note for visiting families, while Kiwi kids under 17 can tramp for free, there are no reduced rates for visitors' children.
Milford, Kepler, Routeburn and the Abel Tasman Coast Tracks have all introduced this pricing scheme for overseas visitors.
However, not all New Zealanders are welcoming the new measures.
Nelson kayak operator, Andrew McFarland, is worried business will suffer if tourists opt for day drips instead.
"More people are going to be doing day trips. They'll still be using all the DoC facilities throughout the day and then they'll drive away and freedom camp somewhere else," he said to Newstalk ZB host Mike Hosking.
He was concerned that most tourists are traveling on the cheap. If the measures were not made fair across the board it could be damaging for local tourism businesses, as the foot traffic is driven away from traditional hot spots.
