Plan to charge foreign tourists for access to key sites welcomed
At the National Party conference at the weekend, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Minister of Conservation Tama Potaka announced international visitors would need to pay a fee to access Cathedral Cove/Te Whanganui-a-Hei, Tongariro Crossing, Milford Sound and Aoraki/Mount Cook.
About 80% of people who visit these attractions are overseas tourists.
Mr Potaka said tourists made a big contribution to the economy which no-one wanted to change.
However, many of his friends visiting from overseas were shocked they could visit some of the most beautiful places in the world for free, he said.
"It's only fair that at these special locations, foreign visitors make an additional contribution of between $20 and $40 per person."
It was expected the scheme could raise up to $62million a year which would be re-invested back into the same areas, he said.
New Zealanders will still have free access.
Ultimate Hikes operates a guided walk business on the Milford and Routeburn tracks.
General manager Noel Saxon said he was supportive of the proposed fee as he was aware how underfunded the national parks were.
It made a lot of sense for the money raised at Milford Sound to be used in the running costs of the Fiordland National Park, he said.
In national parks overseas, people paid to enter, he said.
At this stage he was unsure how the proposed fees would affect the company as it already paid a concession to use the tracks.
The Milford Track ended at Milford Sound so it was possible the company would have to pay more, he said.
Fiordland Community Board chairwoman Diane Holmes said the Milford Opportunities Project consulted the community about charging tourists to access Fiordland National Park.
She believed the new fee had community support.
During the consultation, fees as high as $115 had been suggested but charging a lower fee was "much fairer".
Other countries charged for access to similar attractions, she said.
It was good the money would return to the conservation estate as the Department of Conservation spent a lot of time and money making sure the tracks were clear and the facilities clean, she said.
Amber Court Motel owner Aaron Liu said he was not in favour of charging people a fee to visit the sound.
"For me it's too much."
Visitors already had to pay a $10 an hour fee to park there, he said.
Mr Luxon also announced changes to the concession laws which allow businesses to operate on conservation land.
"The concessions regime is totally broken, often taking years to obtain or renew and leaving businesses in a cycle of bureaucratic limbo," he said.
Southland MP Joseph Mooney said fixing the concession laws would support Southland's tourism sector, grow the region's economy and create more jobs.
The present system was stopping Southlanders from making the most of the land and opportunities around them, he said.
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