New Zealand ‘wants all tourists’ as it prioritises sector

Boosting tourism numbers is a top priority for New Zealand’s government, said Nicola Willis, the country’s new minister of economic growth, who emphasised she “absolutely” wants Chinese visitor numbers to return to pre-Covid levels.

This is a move away from the previous Labour government’s plans for higher-value visitors and tourism, Willis, who is also New Zealand’s finance minister, told local news outlet RNZ.

“Every time a Chinese tourist comes to New Zealand and they spend money in our local businesses, they spend money with our local tourism operators, that’s good jobs for Kiwis, that’s money for our small business owners that translates into the ability to pay workers more,” Willis said on Wednesday.

“Our job is to make it easy for them to come in the door, easy for them to come to New Zealand … then when they get here I have great faith in our tourism providers that they’ll do everything they can to get as many dollars out of those back pockets as possible.”

“I want all tourists, because ultimately it’s not the government that decides how much tourists spend when they come to New Zealand. That tourist will make that decision.”

According to the New Zealand Immigration government website, most international tourists pay an International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy of NZ$100 (US$57).