Barcelona will raise tourist tax for cruise passengers, mayor says
NBCJUL 20 2024
New Zealand announced on Tuesday a raise in its International Visitor Conservation and Tourist Levy (IVL) to NZ$100 ($62) from NZ$35 starting from October 1 to "ensure visitors contribute more to public services and high-quality experiences."
The non-refundable tourist tax is charged when applying for a New Zealand Electronic Travel Authority (NZeTA) or most visas, with notable exceptions being permanent residents, Australian citizens and people from many Pacific Island nations.
This comes on top of an increase in tourist visas from NZ$211 ($131) to NZ$341 ($211) also on October 1. Visitors holding passports of dozens of countries such as the US and Canada are visa-exempt for three-month stays.
Destination taxes are the future, as most tourists are indeed willing to pay a levy if that helps improving local infrastructure and promotes the sustainable use of local resources. Given that there has been little evidence that such taxes have a negative impact on the flow of visitors, one can only expect them to become more and more common.
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