Queenstown Chamber of Commerce is pleased to see the Queenstown Lakes District Council seek a public mandate on introducing a local visitor levy to fund essential infrastructure in the region.

Businesses in the region provide goods and services to 3.3 million domestic and international visitors per annum with a rate payer base of just 24,000 people. Business owners and staff, as Queenstown Lakes residents, know that the infrastructure is not coping with visitor numbers, and this is adversely impacting on business ability to operate efficiently and the quality of life of staff and their families.

An informal survey, undertaken by the Chamber in 2018, of more than 100 business owners from Queenstown and Wanaka found that 94% of respondents agreed that QLDC is unable to fund all of its future infrastructure and visitor experience requirements solely through rates on existing ratepayers. At the same time, 81% agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: “I support a local visitor levy that targets visitors only.”

Queenstown Chamber of Commerce CEO Anna Mickell says that without an intervention like the local visitor levy, businesses will face increasingly challenging operating conditions as well as being called upon to pay for the capital costs of fixing these infrastructure challenges.

“Businesses in the Queenstown area are facing significant productivity challenges due, in large part, to the difficulty in getting their staff and customers from A to B and unaffordable staff housing” says Anna.

“No Queenstown business owner wants to see prices to visitors increase, however the infrastructure challenges that the region faces are so significant most feel that this step is necessary”.

“As far as the Chamber is concerned, it’s not about whether a local visitor levy is a good idea or not, we are clear that a local visitor levy is the best way forward. Let’s support the Council getting this over the line as quickly as possible, and start working out how we equitably collect this revenue, making sure that no business or visitor is unduly impacted.”

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