New Zealand, the last to join the tourist taxes.
Many cities have supported in recent years the approval of tourist fees. In Spain, for example, Barcelona currently has a tourist tax of 2.25 euros for accommodation in 5-star hotels and in cities like Majorca This year the 'Sustainable Tourism Tax' was revised to protect the city from mass tourism, as did the other Balearic Islands.
As we explained a few weeks ago, Venice announced that it was launching an entrance fee to the city for 2020 in order to control the situation of overflowing tourism that it is experiencing, and that it is especially tedious for its neighbors.
Other European cities like Berlin and Amsterdam , have a single rate of 5% on accommodation, the highest in Europe, while Edinburgh has imposed one of the lowest, with 2 pounds. In short, there are few cities that have not implemented this measure.
The last to join this trend will be New Zealand, which announced this April that it will launch next fall your new tourist tax . Why is it and how will it be applied?
Visitors will have to pay a tax of about 20 euros if they want to enter the country , though not all. For example, permanent residents and visitors from other South Pacific islands and Australia will be exempt.
With it they intend to raise about 300 thousand dollars over the next five years that will go to the conservation and tourist infrastructure.
"The projects financed by the IVL -as they have called the rate- will contribute to the long-term sustainability of tourism , protecting and enhancing our natural environment, upholding New Zealand's reputation as a global destination and addressing the way tourism infrastructure is financed," said New Zealand Minister for Tourism Kelvin Davis.
PROTECT YOUR HERITAGE
The why of the rate is the increase in tourism , which New Zealand had been able to manage until the last decade when it became uncontrollable.
According to a report by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, published in January 2019, the Oceanian country, with 4.7 inhabitants, it had received a total of 3.8 million tourists from the beginning of the year to April.
Said tourism has meant 14.7 billion dollars to GDP from New Zealand. And there is no forecast that the numbers will go down, the New Zealand government expects that the number of annual tourists increase by 5.1 million by 2024.
One of the main reasons that has led to this decision has been the case of natural parks -the main attraction of the country-. Tourists did not pay tickets to visit them , and it was the locals who had to pay for the maintenance.
"This tax will ensure our international visitors contribute to the infrastructure they use and help protect the natural places they enjoy," said Kelvin Davis, New Zealand Minister for Tourism.