‘We need help to mitigate impacts’ - councillor
Queenstown Lakes needs more direct infrastructure funding before locals will fall in love with tourism again, says councillor Matt Wong.
Last week, the New Zealanders’ Views of Tourism report found residents here have the most negative perception of the impacts of tourism in New Zealand.
Like elsewhere in the country, they believe the industry is good for the economy and provides jobs, but unlike elsewhere, they want fewer tourists, not more, the survey found.
In NZ’s tourism capital, as the visitor numbers have returned post pandemic, locals are again acutely aware of the impact on traffic, the air, water, wildlife, general environment, culture, overcrowding, costs and a host of other downsides.
“There were some positives in the report with support for tourism growing nationally, and about 30% wanting more tourists in their districts, but that’s not a sentiment shared in Queenstown,” Wong says.
“When Queenstown is seen as a tourism mecca, but one that doesn’t have the social license and is not providing for its people, you have to look at all aspects of the ecosystem.
“We create a lot of GST and revenue for this country, but we aren’t getting anywhere near our proportion back, to support our own district and people with the infrastructure we need.
“We were close in 2019 with the visitor levy, which would have been great whatever form it takes, but now that’s off the table.
“Both major parties, Labour and National are saying ‘keep doing what you’re doing, we like the numbers’ . . . ‘but actually we’re not going to give you anything to help yourselves’.”
Wong, like Destination Queenstown boss Mat Woods, says if Central Government wants the tourism industry to improve its social licence and reduce its environmental footprint, it needs to provide more for the region’s impacted the most.
The visitor levy, or bed tax, needed some revision, he says, as it didn’t capture Airbnb or other visitors, instead placing the burden squarely on hotels and motels.
“But whatever the mechanism . . . they need to put their money where their mouth is.”
Wong owns the iFLY Indoor Skydiving business on Brecon Street, which is one of the streets improved through the Queenstown Streetscapes Project, which Government match-funded $35m with QLDC, through the Covid-inspired ‘Shovel Ready’ Infrastructure Investment Fund.
But he believes the support from Central Government needs to be much deeper, as there aren’t enough Queenstown Lakes ratepayers to fund what is needed.
“It’s the big projects, a lot of fundamental things humans need, physiological needs: transport, rubbish, and fresh water and sewage.
“Our mixed use recycling plant, for example, is over-flowing. We’re dumping rubbish into the tip in peak season, because it just can’t handle it. And we don’t have enough money to fund another one.
“Sewage is another one, we know we’ve got aging pipes and these recent upgrades have dug up a lot of issues, and then you’ve got transport.”
Wong says the $115m put into the NZ Upgrade Programme and $50m for Queenstown downtown bypass is a “drop in the ocean” compared to Queenstown 7% GDP contribution and what’s needed, especially at Shotover Bridge. He also like to see more funding for cycle commuter routes.
“We have trades and families who need their vehicles but plenty of other people could hop on a bike or bus rather than dragging their car into work each day. There will be a tipping point, where it’s preferable to sitting in traffic.”
Wong’s recently bought an e-bike, which makes for a quicker commute into town from Fernhill when there’s traffic.
“If we had a proper commuter track, for example, we could take at least 10% or more Fernhill commuters and get them on bikes.”
With other regions likely to need increasing funding to deal with the impacts of climate change, Wong says either a visitor levy or GST return is needed for Queenstown, providing potentially $30m per annum.
He says Queenstown is already morphing from an alpine town into a small city “but Central Government isn’t quite seeing it that way yet.”
