Adrift Tongariro guiding company owner Stewart Barclay fears adding another fee may price his business out of much of the adventure tourism market. Photo / Visit Ruapehu
Adrift Tongariro guiding company owner Stewart Barclay fears adding another fee may price his business out of much of the adventure tourism market. Photo / Visit Ruapehu
A move to introduce foreign visitor fees for the Tongariro Crossing has small business owners in the Ruapehu district concerned about the impact.
Part of a larger conservation initiative, the fees will range between $20-$40, with the aim of generating $62 million in revenue to reinvest in Department of Conservation(DoC) sites.
They will likely take effect in late 2027 and will apply to the Tongariro Crossing, Cathedral Cove/Te Whanganui-a-Hei, Milford Sound and Aoraki/Mt Cook, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced recently. He also promised plans to reduce red tape for businesses operating in these National Parks.
DoC deputy director-general policy and regulatory services Ruth Isaac said people came to see “the natural environment at these iconic places”.
“The visitor fee is a fairer way to ensure international visitors contribute to the places they enjoy”.
Backyard Tours shuttle services owner Gloria Ngawati said Kiwis were “for it for the maintenance and preserving of the park”.
However, despite many businesses voicing their support of DoC’s conservation efforts and shifting the onus of upkeep at the sites from taxpayers, they were uncertain about the economic fallout and whether businesses would truly be supported.
Stewart Barclay, owner of Adrift Tongariro Guiding Company, is a mountaineer who has been tramping and operating in the Tongariro National Park for more than 25 years, guiding many of his tour company’s expeditions.
He said despite Luxon’s promise to reduce red tape for businesses like his, he was sceptical of whether they would receive support.
Stewart Barclay, owner of Adrift Tongariro guiding company, is concerned about the new foreign visitor fees for the Tongariro Crossing.
“Over the last 26 years of operating, it’s become more and more of my time spent on the political bureaucratic side rather than looking at improving our performance operationally, which is sad, really,” Barclay said.
As a company guiding in the Tongariro National Park, he was already required to pay commissions to DoC and for each customer he brought into the park. These overhead costs were reflected in the prices of his services and he feared adding another fee might be just enough to price his business out of much of the adventure tourism market.
“We have to be careful that our cost of compliance and our total cost overall don’t then exclude us from a vast majority of overseas travellers, and we are heading that way. Cost of compliance for tourism and adventure activities, as we are, is getting very high.”
The International Visitor Levy increased from $35 to $100 in October. The cost of some other visas, such as the Working Holiday Visa, also rose significantly for many nationalities at the same time.
Barclay said he believed New Zealand may be nearing the tipping point for making the country less attractive to internationals if price hikes and new fees continued. The combination of the macro and micro impacts of the new fees across New Zealand over the past year was his biggest concern.
“The area is struggling at the moment with the economy and tourism,” Barclay said.
Towns surrounding Tongariro National Park have been suffering from poor snow seasons, financial challenges for larger businesses and difficulties in the timber industry in recent years.
Louis Van Wyk, who co-owns Tongariro Crossing Lodge with his wife Marina, agreed the fees could pose a significant risk to local businesses at an already vulnerable time, and may push more budget-conscious travellers to go elsewhere.
Louis and Marina Van Wyk, co-owners of Tongariro Crossing Lodge, are worried budget-conscious travellers may go elsewhere.
“If it’s inconsistent where there are only a few select places that people are being charged to access national parks, or not even the whole park, just a specific part of the park, it feels a little bit uneven,” he said.
“For me, it depends on how the revenue is collected.”
Ray Goff, director of Summit Shuttles, a Tongariro Alpine Crossing transport service, wants to know more about how new foreign visitor fees will be implemented. Photo / Mike Scott
Operators wanted local businesses and more specialised experts to be involved in planning for the rollout of the fees.
“I would like them to bring in outside people that understand commercialisation and tourism and how that is a healthy thing,” Barclay said.
Van Wyk said during his time in Waimarino there had been no discussions between Government representatives, including the current and previous local MP, and businesses.
“The concession holders who work in the park, they have a different relationship with DoC and the Government, I suppose, but the rest of us don’t really have much input or involvement.”
Barclay and Van Wyk said they appreciated the work of the local DoC department at Tongariro National Park, and their concerns were more aimed towards senior government officials who they said had done little to listen to the community.
