Tourism Minister Welcomes Industry’s Success
MEDIA STATEMENT
24 November 1999
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
TOURISM MINISTER WELCOMES INDUSTRY’S SUCCESS
Tourism Minister Lockwood Smith has welcomed New
Zealand Tourism Board statistics that show the tourism
industry brought $3.7 billion dollars into the economy this
past year – up 19% from last year’s statistics, and the
highest ever recorded.
“This growth is great news for the
tourism industry, and is a real credit to New Zealand’s
hardworking tourism operators and their associated agencies,
such as the Tourism Industry Association and the New Zealand
Tourism Board,” Dr Smith said.
“Tourism is already
making an important contribution to the New Zealand economy,
and today’s statistics show the industry’s future potential
to make an even greater contribution through foreign
exchange earnings, and creating new jobs for New Zealand
families.
Dr Smith said that the industry’s success
highlighted the need for more investment in the tourism
industry in the future, and for Government to keep its hands
out of the tourism industry’s pocket.
“Labour’s tourism
policy outlines a range of working groups, focus groups,
committees and task forces to ‘assist’ the tourism industry
to develop sustainably. New Zealand competes for tourist
dollars in a very competitive international market, and one
of New Zealand’s advantages is its low-cost environment for
business.
“Labour’s plans to raise taxes, repeal the
Employment Contracts Act, reverse the ACC reforms and
provide ‘assistance’ through big bureaucracy will stifle
innovation, and raise the industry’s entire cost
structure.
“Many tourists won’t pay more – they just
won’t come to New Zealand.
But Dr Smith said that the
message that Labour sends to international markets is likely
to inflict even more harm on the tourism
industry.
“Labour’s disgusting attacks on successful New
Zealand businesspeople and their intention to meddle with
industries, including effectively closing down a whole
sector of private industry through reversing the ACC
changes, would send a terribly negative message to potential
international investors.
“Labour’s policies would harm
successful industries such as tourism, and curtail offshore
investment which will be crucial to the industry’s ongoing
sustainable development,” Dr Smith
concluded.
ENDS