NZ steps into PMC hike row
New Zealand tourism has been dealt a “slap in the face” by the Australian government’s decision to increase the passenger movement charge, according to its peak industry body.
Tourism Industry Association New Zealand chairman Norm Thompson branded the levy an “unfair tax grab,” predicting the $8 hike would hinder the destination’s efforts to encourage Australians to cross the ditch.
“The increase will be a barrier to the almost 1.2 million Australians who travel to New Zealand annually,” he said.
“While they have said some of the money will go towards Tourism Australia, our experience with the UK’s airport departure tax shows unfair tax grabs such as this disappear into the government coffers.”
The body had been lobbying for the charge to be cut alongside Australia’s Tourism and Transport Forum (TTF), when the increases were announced.
“We have been pushing for a seamless border experience that will increase the flow of tran-Tasman travel, with streamlined border processing and ‘mates rates’ to halve the PMC for Kiwis and Australians,” he said. “Instead the Australian government has imposed this hefty increase on a tax that is already high.”
Thompson said he had discussed the issue with prime minister John Key who last week described the charge as a “barrier for tourism growth” (Travel Today, May 10).
TTF chief executive John Lee echoed the concerns saying the charge was “bordering on protectionism.”
“We should be working together to grow the tourism industries on both sides of the Tasman instead of punishing the 1.2 million Kiwis who travel to Australia every year and the 1.1 million Aussies who go to New Zealand,” he said, adding a common border was the ideal outcome.
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