Podcasts about tourism minister stuart nash

The government appears to have found an unlikely ally in former Tourism Minister Stuart Nash.    It's increasing the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy from $35 to $100 next month, an increase of nearly 200%.  Nash wanted to bring the levy up by as much as $200 back in 2022.  He told Mike Hosking that anyone saying these fees will deter visitors is wrong.  Nash says they're dreaming if they think an extra $65 US will be the difference between coming here or another country.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast for Wednesday 4th of September, will a tourist levy of $100 stop people from travelling here? The airports say yes, former Tourism Minister Stuart Nash says no.  It was quite rare for the SIS to go into as much detail as they did over the threats to our country. Our security expert Paul Buchanan breaks down the data.  Ginny Andersen and Mark Mitchell shake and make up over the police beat numbers and discuss how much weight is placed on official advice on any given day.  Get the Mike Hosking Breakfast Full Show Podcast every weekday morning on iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts.  LISTEN ABOVE See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has shot down claims that the government is not doing enough to help the sector recover from COVID-19, saying much has been done.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

International visitors have been spending up large in New Zealand. The latest International Visitor Survey shows in the three months to the end of September, overseas visitors spent more than $1 billion. The survey shows holidaymakers spent $479 million,  while visitors here to see friends or relatives spent nearly $300 million. The regions benefited as well, with the Tourism Electronic Card Transactions spend,  higher in eight regions than October 2019 levels pre-Covid. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash says the injection into the economy is likely to increase, as more international visitors travel over summer. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

International visitors have been spending up large in New Zealand. The latest International Visitor Survey shows in the three months to the end of September, overseas visitors spent more than $1 billion. The survey shows holidaymakers spent $479 million,  while visitors here to see friends or relatives spent nearly $300 million. The regions benefited as well, with the Tourism Electronic Card Transactions spend,  higher in eight regions than October 2019 levels pre-Covid. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash says the injection into the economy is likely to increase, as more international visitors travel over summer. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government is confident an innovation programme will go a long way towards helping the tourism industry. People can now apply for the $54 million programme, which aims to support low-carbon projects, or those that have a positive environmental impact. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash told Mike Hosking it's important they help the sector. He says they're protectors of our national brand and turn tourists into storytellers. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Government is confident an innovation programme will go a long way towards helping the tourism industry. People can now apply for the $54 million programme, which aims to support low-carbon projects, or those that have a positive environmental impact. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash told Mike Hosking it's important they help the sector. He says they're protectors of our national brand and turn tourists into storytellers. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Summer tourism has arrived in Queenstown. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash is in the resort town to officially launch the season today. Queenstown Mayor Glyn Lewers says he's optimistic about the months ahead, after a strong winter. He says forward bookings are looking good. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tourism New Zealand has launched a $5.1 million campaign targeting "high quality" visitors. It will target wealthier visitors, as well as those who spend more time here and go outside hotspots and engage in local areas. It comes as Tourism Minister Stuart Nash says he doesn't want to attract what he calls the "two-minute noodle-eating visitors". Tourism New Zealand CEO Rene de Monchy told Mike Hosking they're increasingly researching into what the high quality visitors are looking for. He says they've researched a lot for the last two years into people's motivations and interests, as well as their barriers to getting here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tourism New Zealand has launched a $5.1 million campaign targeting "high quality" visitors. It will target wealthier visitors, as well as those who spend more time here and go outside hotspots and engage in local areas. It comes as Tourism Minister Stuart Nash says he doesn't want to attract what he calls the "two-minute noodle-eating visitors". Tourism New Zealand CEO Rene de Monchy told Mike Hosking they're increasingly researching into what the high quality visitors are looking for. He says they've researched a lot for the last two years into people's motivations and interests, as well as their barriers to getting here. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today on The Panel, Wallace and panellists Peter Dunne and Anna Dean discuss the ongoing debates surrounding bullying in Parliament and Tourism Minister Stuart Nash's comments on backpackers visiting us on a budget.

Tourism Minister Stuart Nash is looking at ways to get more students into seasonal jobs, including shifting the university year by six weeks. Jesse speaks to a fruit grower about the proposal.

Tourism operators say a new plan to address the industry's workforce woes is spot on, but they want the rubber to hit the road, not just rhetoric. Historically the tourism and hospitality industries have copped a bad reputation for offering low wages, long hours and uncertainty. Today, Tourism Minister Stuart Nash unveiled a vision of how to change that perception, improve conditions and strengthen the workforce through regenerative tourism. Tourism reporter Tess Brunton has more.

A tourism leader says things are looking up for the sector, after years of travel restrictions. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has unveiled a new plan to strengthen the tourism and hospitality workforce for the upcoming tourism boom. It includes measures to improve training and working conditions. Real NZ CEO Stephen England-Hall told Mike Hosking the sector is now in a good position to restart. He says while it will take a while to get back to pre-pandemic levels of travel, the future is certainly certainly brighter than the last couple of years. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Changing university terms, to get more students into summer jobs, could be easier said than done. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has suggested moving the university year by six weeks so students are available to work during the main tourism season. Union of Students' Associations Andrew Lessells says many students would welcome the move. But he told Mike Hosking it won't be as simple as just changing dates around. He says there are issues such as the heat students will face while doing exams in the middle of summer. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A plan to transform tourism, strengthen its workforce and ensure a greener future. The Government's launched phase one of the Tourism Industry Transformation Plan - the draft Better Work Action section. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash says as we recover from the pandemic, it's the perfect time to set out a new vision. He says the plan includes improving education and training, giving business owners and operators more resources, and using innovation and technology to enable better work. Consultation is open until September 14. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash joined Heather du Plessis Allan Drive to discuss the Tourism Industry Transformation Plan. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Changing university terms, to get more students into summer jobs, could be easier said than done. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has suggested moving the university year by six weeks so students are available to work during the main tourism season. Union of Students' Associations Andrew Lessells says many students would welcome the move. But he told Mike Hosking it won't be as simple as just changing dates around. He says there are issues such as the heat students will face while doing exams in the middle of summer. LISTEN ABOVE  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A tourism leader says things are looking up for the sector, after years of travel restrictions. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has unveiled a new plan to strengthen the tourism and hospitality workforce for the upcoming tourism boom. It includes measures to improve training and working conditions. Real NZ CEO Stephen England-Hall told Mike Hosking the sector is now in a good position to restart. He says while it will take a while to get back to pre-pandemic levels of travel, the future is certainly certainly brighter than the last couple of years. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Changing university terms may not address the tourism worker shortage, but it could help fill other gaps. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has suggested moving the university year by six weeks so more students can work in tourism and hospitality over summer. It follows the release of a new plan, aimed at boosting the sectors' workforce. Tourism Export Council Chief Executive Lynda Keene told Kate Hawkesby many tourism businesses need workers with particular qualifications, but she isn't opposed to the idea. She says for industries like horticulture, the idea could be very helpful. LISTEN ABOVESee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In another case of theory versus reality, Tourism Minister Stuart Nash is telling us we're open as a country, but tourism groups and others will tell you – we're not really.The thing holding us up? The Covid testing regime our government insists on keeping in place. The problem with it is twofold.One, we are one of the few countries left in the world still doing this, and two, it's bureaucratically heavy and administratively cumbersome. Travel is logistically challenging enough, we don't need additional barriers and hoops to jump through. I don't know of anyone who has travelled recently whose come back and had a favourable word to say about it, in fact quite the opposite. They say it's a nightmare and given that, we're not really fully ‘open' are we?Open means door open, come on in, no barriers. This is more a case of – hey we're open but if you could just get this supervised Covid test, download this result, add this app, load it in there, send it to the other app, keep a QR code handy, take these RAT's for some more testing while you're here, and yep.. come on in. Not quite how it works.My brother has travelled three times internationally since the border opened, and he says New Zealand is by far the worst country to get into in terms of its complicated entry requirement system. He said he didn't know how anyone over 50 years old could work it out it's so convoluted, you virtually need a degree in IT to decipher it.He also said the bureaucracy around it seems to be getting worse not better. As in, they haven't streamlined it or responded to customer complaints to change it or simplify it.There are also several forms needed to fill out before you even board your plane, all adding to your time and stress to just get in or out of the country. And that's before we get to people who may be travelling long haul and find their expensive supervised negative test is no longer valid once they actually touch down in New Zealand. It makes no sense.I interviewed Air NZ's Greg Foran the other day, he described our border entry requirements as a hassle and an impediment to travellers, and he hopes the Government gets rid of it soon. Unfortunately, though, the Government's timeframe is never really in line with commercial imperatives, it moves at a somewhat glacial pace.. and though it says it will consider removing the barriers ‘at some point', no one knows when that is. The PM says it's ‘constantly under review', but then she also said that about our never-ending lockdowns and traffic lights. David Seymour was not wrong when he said everything this Government does takes an ‘Ardernity'. So if you're banking on this Government moving faster to help business and travellers, then you're going to be disappointed.In the meantime, if you were weighing up coming here, versus say Fiji or Australia where there're no entry requirements, and you knew getting into New Zealand involved a strict and costly testing regime, within a strict timeframe, which would you choose?

After more than two long years, international tourists are once again allowed into New Zealand.From this morning visitors from around 60 visa-waiver countries, like Australians already, can now travel here without isolation if they are vaccinated and do a pre-departure and arrival test for Covid-19.Tourism Minister Stuart Nash said thousands of passengers were expected to arrive on about 25 flights at Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch international airports in the next stage of the reopening plan."Today marks a milestone for visitors from our key northern hemisphere markets in the USA, UK, Germany, South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada and others, who can now jump on a plane to come here."Direct flights arrive today from places like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, as well as airports closer to home in Australia, Nadi, and Rarotonga. Many will be connecting flights bringing people from further afield."There were currently just over 30,000 people arriving into the country each week - a significant increase on the trickle throughout the pandemic, but still well down on pre-Covid levels. In January 2020 about 25,000 people were arriving each day.Nash said today's changes would see a further increase in arrivals, and international flight searches to New Zealand were running 19 per cent higher than pre-Covid (March-April 2019).Later this year major international airlines like Emirates, Air Canada, Malaysian Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, LATAM Airlines and Air Tahiti Nui are restarting routes.Air NZ was also adding long haul routes from San Francisco, Honolulu, Houston, New York and Chicago.The changes also applied to those with existing visitor visas, and join vaccinated Australian visitors, temporary work visa holders, and student visa holders who still meet their visa requirements, who are already able to come to New Zealand.Immigration Minister Kris Faafoi said up to 5000 international students were able to come here for the second semester of the academic year.Over 6000 applications Working Holiday Visas had also been approved since March."They will not only have a great time on holiday here but can work to support our tourism, hospitality and horticultural sectors," Faafoi said.On Sunday the Government announced new, more accurate Covid tests which return results in 30 minutes would be trialled at Auckland Airport.Lamp (loop-mediated isothermal amplification) tests can be self-administered like a RAT (rapid antigen test), but are much more accurate.Air NZ CEO Greg Foran said the airline would "ideally" like Covid-19 testing to be removed from travel."But this [test] is a good insurance policy should we suddenly find ourselves in a different situation in the near term."Foran said the further border reopening was a "big day for us", noting it had been 767 days since New Zealand shut its border to anyone without residency or citizenship in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.Foran said almost 1000 people will arrive on the first three flights, from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Fiji.He said he expected visitor numbers to start seriously increasing in July."I think it's still reasonably early in this. What we've got are a lot of people who are keen to reconnect with family and friends and relatives."We're increasingly seeing businesspeople starting to get out and wanting to reconnect. And my view is that when we get to July school holidays, I think we will see some pretty good travel not only domestically but internationally."Air NZ had recalled about 800 pilots and cabin crew in anticipation of increased travel numbers."We've got quite a bit hiring spree going on at the moment."- by Michael Neilson, NZ HeraldSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A South Island tourist operator is furious over tourism cash going to big organisations but missing those in need.The Auditor-General's found a $290 million fund announced in May 2020 lacked clarity and transparency.Tourism Minister Stuart Nash, who didn't hold the job at the time, maintains there was great uncertainty and decisions had to be made quickly.But Fiordland Jet co-owner Chris Adams told Andrew Dickens it's outrageous.“It shows that it doesn't pay to be honest. I was brought up to be honest, and a lot of these guys and companies and including the politicians that brought this out and signed the money off obviously weren't brought up that way.”LISTEN ABOVE

The Government is being criticised for distributing money from a lucrative tourism fund without a proper process and to some firms that didn't need it. Funding came from a $290 million Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Programme. The Auditor-General has found Government Ministers used unclear criteria when dishing out tens of millions of dollars in grants in 2020, and provided few records explaining their decisions. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash spoke to Corin Dann.

On Friday, Tourism Minister Stuart Nash reiterated calls for a new-look tourism industry, insisting we will not fall back into our old ways.  The return of international tourists is less than a month away with the border open to Australians from April 12 and visitors from the likes of the UK and US from May 1st.  So, what does the tourism industry need right now and is Stuart Nash's new-look sector realistic?  To discuss this, Regional Tourism New Zealand chair David Perks and Ann-Marie Johnson from Tourism Industry Aotearoa joined Francesca Rudkin. LISTEN ABOVE 

The government is announcing this morning the opening of a fund to reboot South Island tourism operations hurt by travel restrictions. It comes as borders are set to re-open to the world in a matter of weeks. The $49 million fund is available for businesses in five key South Island regions ready to scale up operations or come out of hibernation. It is part of a wider $200 million support plan for the sector announced last year. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash spoke to Guyon Espiner.

Excitement as New Zealand prepares to say haere mai to our trans-Tasman neighbours. From April 13, vaccinated Australian tourists can come to New Zealand without the need to isolate.  Those from other visa-waiver countries, like the UK or US, will be welcomed back from May 2. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash told Andrew Dickens we need to make sure everyone's ready for tourists. “We've always been unsure on how well our communities would cope and the pressure it would put on our health system, we haven't got that down 100 percent yet.” LISTEN ABOVE 

Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has told Checkpoint by the end of March government can give a date for tourists from visa waiver countries to come to NZ without isolation. He said by end of March there'll be "a level of clarity". Nash said he acknowledges how hard tourism operators have done, and he is lobbying to see the border reopen to those visa waiver countries before July.  "This is the sector that we have spent the most money on of any in our economy over the last two years." The government is looking to spend millions on tourism projects focused on celebrating the new Matariki holiday in June this year. The $16 million contestable infrastructure fund is now open for new bids from councils for co-funded projects that small communities cant afford on their own. But it comes against a back-drop of tourism operators on their knees begging for the immediate return of overseas visitors ahead of the government's scheduled partial reopening of the border to tourists in July.

How are you feeling about mixing with other people at the moment? From midnight Friday, we are going to wind the clock back two years, and any New Zealander who wants to come home can walk off the plane, jump in a car, a bus, a taxi or an Uber, and not worry about MIQ or isolation of any sort. They'll just need to do a RAT test when they arrive and five or six days after they get here. For kiwis coming here, it's going to be just like it was before the pandemic. A big change. As for tourists, that's still a work-in-progress. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash was very upbeat on Newstalk ZB this morning, saying tourists will be free to come here much sooner than we might have been expecting. We just have to get over the worst of Omicron, and then the Government will be in a position to make a decision. But, for New Zealanders, the border will be fully open for business come midnight this Friday. And there is no doubt in my mind that the Government has done the right thing here. No longer can we put up a watertight defence against something like Omicron, which is showing that it can't be completely shut out.  If you're like me, you've probably been somewhat surprised at the rate Omicron seems to be taking off here in New Zealand. It's not quite the rate that the modellers were talking about a while ago – well, not yet anyway – but it is spreading.  Nevertheless, come midnight Friday, I will not be feeling any less secure than I do today – because, personally, I've reached the point where after two years I'm ready for us all to be living with this COVID thing. And that's why I am more than comfortable with the Government's decision to open the border to New Zealanders from all over the world, from midnight this Friday. I'm comfortable with it because I am ready to have more people in the country. I am more than comfortable mixing with other people. Do you feel the same – or not? The other consequence of the border re-opening for New Zealanders is that we can now think about overseas travel without MIQ and isolation of any sort being part of the equation. How different is that going to be from how we've lived over the past two years? Right now, I couldn't afford to take a big trip overseas. There are teenage mouths to feed and all the other costs that go with raising a family. But, as of midnight Friday, international travel is going to be back on the cards for us New Zealanders on this side of the border too. I know some people have still been travelling even with the restrictions that have been in place. I remember hearing from someone last year who'd been travelling around the States and Europe and called us from inside MIQ. That's all changing now. And, if I could afford to travel overseas right now, I would. Because, as per my feeling about people coming into New Zealand from overseas – and my comfort with that – I'm ready to mix with people in other countries as well. 

The New Zealand border is gradually reopening, but the barrier to tourists is not changing any time soon. Tourism operators say keeping a self isolation requirement leaves them starved of business. Tourism Minister Stuart Nash talks to Lisa Owen.  

Tougher penalties and fines are on the cards as part of a proposed crackdown on irresponsible freedom camping.Tourism Minister Stuart Nash has released a plan to hike the costs for those who break the rules and strengthen the standard for self-contained vehicles, and is putting it to the public for their feedback.He is clear about what he wants."I would like non-self-contained campervans or vehicles to be banned. But we are putting this out to consultation and I'm open to be swayed," Nash said."There are too many stories up and down our country of tourists who are parking up in these vehicles in areas that don't have facilities, and of course, the only place they can go to the toilets is by the roadside, in the rivers or in the bush, and that's totally unacceptable."Two of the options on the table include making it mandatory for freedom camping in a vehicle to be done in a certified self-contained vehicle, or allowing for non-certified vehicles if they are staying at a site with toilets.He did not want to see the end of freedom camping, but Nash wanted to see it done responsibly, by the rules, and in the right place.The proposal would give stronger powers to enforce the rules, including a regulatory system for certifying self-contained vehicles with a centralised vehicle register, adding more grounds for vehicles to be confiscated if they breach requirements, and strengthening the standard for self-contained vehicles.They would be looking to use plumbers and gas fitters to ensure that toilets and other systems are properly installed and working, he said.The proposal could also increase fines to $1000."A fine at the moment is $200. That's not enough," Nash said.When people were fined, they had 30 days to pay it and another 30 days before the collection process started, he said."That's 60 days and a lot of tourists are saying 'well, pack up the car and fly home and forget about it'. So we need to ensure that the enforcement regime is fit for purpose, is a big deterrent. But we would also look at rental companies actually being liable for the fines that are incurred by their customers."Fixed v portable toiletsTui Campers operations manager Trudy Williams said the company already chased up fines because it was the one that received the notifications.But she wanted to see a few changes before the liability for paying unpaid fines falls completely on rental companies."They need to put in a system where there is a central system that we can check like you can at the NZTA with the tolls. So that when a customer or hirer returns, we can go online and say 'right, you've got this infringement, this infringement. You're not leaving until it's paid'," Williams said.Without that, she said it would not be fair or easy to recover fines.She was on board with most of the proposals, but said they needed to categorise private and rental vehicles differently."You know I've heard of them. They get themselves certified self-contained and then they remove the toilets. As a rental operator, we'll insist that a toilet goes with the hirer."Williams wanted to hear more discussion on whether toilets should be permanently plumbed in."People can still abuse the freedom camping or vehicle use. It's easy to empty a ... fixed toilet in an inappropriate place like a riverbed or something as it is for someone to empty a portable toilet."It doesn't negate abuse of it, it probably increases the proportion on compliance."'Protection from the thievery'Mangawhai Heads Holiday Park manager Richard Gunson was pleased with most of the proposals, but said one thing was missing."This means someone in a properly self-contained vehicle can park right beside my boundary and access my facilities free of charge, and they currently do that now. We would like to get some protection from the thievery that goes on."Gunson had a simple solution - freedom camping should be banned from all 50km/h zones unless the local authority gave it a green light...

The Government's Tourism Infrastructure Fund has been reopened and the regions hardest hit by a lack of overseas visitors will get priority.Tourism Minister Stuart Nash made the announcement while in Kaikōura today.The fund was established in 2017 and last allocated money in 2019 - this will be round five of funding and it has been rejigged to take into account the impact Covid-19 has had on tourism.The final size of the funding pool is still to be determined but is expected to be between $13-$18 million, he said."I have updated the criteria for projects to be prioritised by the fund. It will now better reflect the reality that jobs and businesses in some regions, particularly the South Island, are harder hit by the loss of international tourists than other regions."Applications from the Kaikōura, MacKenzie - Aoraki Mt Cook, Queenstown Lakes, Fiordland and South Westland districts will be prioritised."All councils will still be eligible to apply if they lack adequate revenue sources to cater for visitors, for example if they have a small ratepayer base. Community groups with council backing can also apply."All applicants will be asked to demonstrate the need for support with visitor infrastructure."He said the funding will ensure government investment in visitor projects can continue while they work to open quarantine-free travel with Australia, and other international connections when it is safe to do so."The projects will provide much-needed local employment as tourism towns work to diversify their economies. The new infrastructure will also ensure the quality of the visitor experience is improved for when tourists return in greater numbers."Applications for the fund will open next month.

Opposition Leader Judith Collins on bad reviews, bad polls and bad behaviour - can she keep the National Party show on the road? She joins us live.Tourism Minister Stuart Nash outlined his vision for the industry in Queenstown this week - we ask tourism operator Matt Wong how it was received on the ground. The business of babies is booming but are desperate couples paying thousands for optional extras not backed by science? A special report from Anna Bracewell-Worrall. On The Pitch we give National's Immigration spokesperson Erica Standford five minutes to tell us why she'd make a better Immigration Minister than Kris Faafoi. Conor Whitten discovers that New Zealand's former chief mines inspector believes expanding the recovery mission at Pike River is both feasible and safe. And we are joined by our panel - NBR Senior Journalist Dita De Boni, Auckland University Politics Lecturer Dr Lara Greaves and Sunday Star Times editor, Tracy Watkins. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tourism Minister Stuart Nash is promising targeted support for struggling tourism businesses but with a warning - the old model is unsustainable and has to go.In a speech this morning in Queenstown, Nash unveiled some details of what that support might be, adding that it will likely target specific regions - the West Coast of the South Island, Queenstown, Fiordland, Aoraki Mt Cook, Kaikōura.He later told media that proposals for support, yet to be signed off by Cabinet, included working capital to help tourism businesses come out of hibernation when international visitors returned to New Zealand, business advice and funding to implement that advice, a fund to help regions diversify tourism-centric economies, and mental health support.He added that he had no intention of capping the number of international tourists, but wanted to see higher prices for them than for locals, which is already in place for accommodation on the Great Walks.That could include entry fees to national parks and conservation areas for foreign visitors, but not Kiwis.And he wanted to see changes to the international tourist levy, which is currently $35."It excludes Australians. We're missing a trick here. Australians charge Kiwis. Why shouldn't we charge Australians? There's work being done on this and no decisions have been made."Nash added that the Government was working on a way to allow local authorities to implement a bed tax, which Queenstown is very keen on, if they chose."The goal is to ensure that when people come to New Zealand, they spend money in a way that adds to their experience but also adds value to our communities."He said a trans-Tasman travel bubble, which the industry is desperate for, was likely to open this year, while the borders to the rest of the world would likely reopen in 2022.But when the tap turned back on for international visitors, a new tourism model was needed."It can't go back to how it was. It is unsustainable, it lacks resilience ... The world has been changed by Covid-19, and so we must change with it," Nash said in his speech."In a number of places, the industry was beginning to erode its social licence to operate, and therefore lose the community's support for continued growth of the sort we were seeing."Perhaps we had also passed the tipping point, in some key iconic spots, of not delivering on our global brand of '100% Pure'."Queenstown in particular had struggled to keep control of issues that mass tourism had brought such as traffic congestion, accommodation prices, road accidents and staff shortages."The November 2019 'Mood of the Nation' research done for the tourism industry found that 78 per cent of residents here were more likely to think there was too much pressure from international visitors," Nash said.Research for Tourism NZ showed that New Zealand faced a revenue gap of $12.9 billion a year without international visitors.Domestic tourism spend was up 24 per cent to $1.17b in January of this year compared to January 2020, but total visitor spend fell 11 per cent overall.The Government has already put $400 million towards tourism recovery, which included $299m in cash grants and loans for 130 businesses and $20.2m for New Zealand's 31 Regional Tourism Organisations.Nash promised more help was coming, but ruled out regional wage subsidies or Strategic Tourism Assets Protection Programme grants or loans.The help would target the regions most heavily reliant on international tourism, he said.The Government will also support tourism workers into conservation or infrastructure jobs, he added."We won't leave our worst affected communities behind."He repeated aspects of the vision he outlined at the end of last year including an overhaul of freedom camping, changes to the international visitor levy to ease the financial burden on the local communities they visit, and partnerships with business, workers and Māori focused on productivity and sustainability.A discussion document on...

Tourism Minister Stuart Nash is considering raising the levy overseas tourists pay to enter the country, and says he wants tourists to be spending about $300 a day.Earlier today, Nash outlined his vision for the future of the industry including how to make tourism more sustainable.He also wants to make sure New Zealanders don't have to pick up the cost of hosting international visitors, which could mean differential prices at some tourist spots.Nash told RNZ the $35 levy foreign tourists paid would have to rise, but he would not be drawn on how big an increase he was considering.He also said people who visited New Zealand and bought vans which were not self-contained and spent as little as $10 a day were "not really the sort of tourists we want"."Now it doesn't mean that we're going to close the borders of course, for those who spend $10 a day ... but those who will be targeted will be those who spend money in our communities, and what we call high value tourists," he said."There is a difference between high value and wealthy, of course. Some people for whom New Zealand is a dream destination that saved up for this their whole life, they're coming over here to have a wonderful experience and we will deliver on it. So please don't confuse high value with high net worth or high wealth."A protest had been planned for Stuart Nash's tourism event today, but the rally was cancelled in response to the prospect of a transtasman bubble starting in April. Photo / James AllanNash said the $300 estimate included accommodation. "You know, what I'm talking about is people who are coming into our communities, spending money, enjoying themselves, adding value."He said he had been told by airlines people who spent as little as $10 a day were unlikely to visit New Zealand in the near future anyway as air travel would be too expensive.Big talk, but businesses want actionQueenstown businesses said Nash's new vision was a promising game plan, but they wanted to see action.Nash, speaking at a tourism policy school in Queenstown today, said his plans included a shake up of pricing for visitors that could see fees added to national parks, and flagged work on a nationwide bed tax.He was clear - business as usual was not an option for the tourism industry.His vision set out four main areas to tackle - he wanted to see tourism become more sustainable, ensure Aotearoa was at the top of the world's most aspirational destinations, for New Zealanders not to pick up the tab of hosting visitors and to have more partnership between the Government and the industry.Nash has raised similar points before, but the details include the potential for Australians to pay the $35 tourist tax and adding fees to national parks for international visitors.He also flagged that work was under way on a nationwide bed tax, which he said Queenstown had shown an appetite for."I am doing some work on this, but not just for Queenstown... nationwide. We're trying to find a way that would make it easier for councils to make their own determination around whether they wanted to do this or not."But we wouldn't introduce the bed tax ourselves."Nash floats different pricing for locals vs touristsNash was also interested in attractions offering different prices for locals."A number of us have travelled internationally and we all know that most countries actually have an oversea's visitor differential and a local differential. There are some places here that do," Nash said."But I would like to see more of that because... I think we really under-value what we have in this country and we do so at our own peril."Aotearoa could be smarter about targeting international tourists while at the same time ensuring New Zealanders were not deterred from attractions, he said.iFly Indoor Skydiving Queenstown managing director Matt Wong said he was not on board with differential pricing."I think it would be extremely negative. I think it would be seen as favouritism for do...

Next Friday, I'm lucky enough to be taking a few days off, and with a group of girlfriends, I'm heading to Karamea to fast-pack the Heaphy Track. We go on an adventure like this each year - it's our version of a girl's weekend. Some people go shopping, others treat themselves to a fancy hotel, but on the last weekend in November, my mates and I go bush to run, walk, laugh, and be awed by our nation's beauty on an iconic New Zealand track.We've done the Routeburn, Old Ghost Road, Ruapehu Round the Mountain track, and I don't know whether it's the time of year we go, but we generally find ourselves in a hut surrounded mostly with other like-minded Kiwis. All making the most of what our own backyard has to offer - but only because we book a bunk in a hut the day bookings open.As cruel as it has been to see our tourism industry devastated by Covid 19 this year, a positive outcome is seeing New Zealanders contemplate how we want tourism to look in the future, focusing on ways to reshape the industry to provide real benefit to New Zealanders and the tourism sector, and creating a more sustainable industry. Some people have been more articulate about this than others.This week Tourism Minister Stuart Nash said he will ban hiring vans that are not self-contained to tourists, and market New Zealand as a destination for the wealthy as he urges a focus on attracting high-spending visitors.Actually, these are good ideas but delivered in a slightly stroppy manner. They were somehow translated into meaning we were looking to ban freedom campers, discourage backpackers, and only let the wealthy in to enjoy our beautiful land. You could almost hear the Trump-like chant – Ban The Van! Ban the Van!Not all Freedom Campers poop in inappropriate places or throw their litter around. Not all freedom campers are international travellers. New Zealanders travel around the country too, and yes, need to go to the toilet sometimes.  I don't think the person who left two large rubbish bags of garden waste on my berm recently was a tourist who'd felt the need to do some pruning.We don't always behave as well as we could ourselves – so let's not start tourist bashing.Saying vans must be self-contained isn't the simple answer to the freedom camping issue.  Of course, they should be, but at present self-contained can mean a small van with pretty much a potty tucked under the bed. That's not going to encourage better behaviour.If there is to be real change, then we need to take a closer look at what self-contained means.We do need to invest in more infrastructure around New Zealand – even Kiwis lament the lack of toilets as they drive around the country – but working out how we funnel the tourism dollar to assist in providing good facilities for both local and international tourism, is a complicated and complex issue.One thinks Stuart Nash needs more time to get his head around before creating headlines again.I'd hate to see us discourage backpackers from coming to New Zealand. If Covid 19 has taught us anything, we need them to help with seasonal work - the work we don't seem to want to do. They stay for a few months, spend money as tourists, contribute to retail, work and pay tax, and then a decade or two later they return to have a different kind of holiday.Maybe the kind Minister Nash is more interested in advertising too.In the time of a global pandemic – is it a problem to shake up our tourism marketing campaign? It's probably the more wealthy who will travel for a holiday first – why not throw a marketing campaign out to the world suggesting people come and splash their cash around New Zealand?Surely though we can do that without throwing away the welcome mat to others.We all like to travel in different ways and should be able to. Whether you're a young backpacker travelling to New Zealand for a working holiday, or an older traveller who likes to enjoy the finer things in life. Or a crazy bunch of girls who think there is nothing...