The accommodation industry is extremely disappointed with the Supreme Court ruling that Auckland Council's Accommodation Provider Targeted Rate (APTR) funding for tourism is valid.
Hospitality New Zealand’s Accommodation Association Lead and Sector Chair, Troy Clarry, said the decision to overturn the Court of Appeal ruling will have long-term implications for operators; not only for Auckland but probably throughout New Zealand.
“The APTR, as proposed by the council, is unfair, inappropriate and simply does not work, Covid-19 proved that beyond all doubt.”
Clarry said that it does not work as intended and Auckland now has no funding for marketing and event, inevitably affecting New Zealand’s ability to attract major events going forward. He said this ruling is the end of the matter and we now need to move forward.
“We plead with other local councils around New Zealand to work with the industry on models similar to the fairer funding model for destination marketing that has been worked on with Tataki Auckland Unlimited and the wider tourism sector since the Court of Appeal ruling 18 months back,” said Clarry.
“This is well advanced and covers the wider industry on a much fairer basis, and we ask other councils to look at what is being done and work with local tourism operators on similar models. At the same time, we also ask the Government to work with us to develop a centralised funding model.”
Clarry expressed the urgency of the matter, noting that it was not just for the industry but also for the benefits tourism can provide to the whole economy, such as GtDP, tax take, GST, and branding.
“We still have a concern around targeted rates in general, and our concern with this ruling is councils around New Zealand will now be tempted to implement targeted rates, not just for tourism but for other sectors going forward.”
The Accommodation Association of New Zealand is urging councils to work with the sector to find alternative fair, reasonable, and nationally endorsed funding models for tourism, with the aim of solving tourism funding problems, which need central government involvement.
“The hospitality and accommodation sector has always been willing to work with councils and the government, and we think this is the perfect time to do that,” added Clarry.
“But it needs to be done quickly because we’re already falling behind competitively in international tourism and our ability to attract travellers from abroad.”
