The New Zealand Hotel Owners Association (NZHOA) is pleased the New Zealand Productivity Commission Inquiry into Local Government Funding & Financing has reflected many of the hotel industry’s concerns in its final report released today.
“The Productivity Commission’s report acknowledges that central government tourism funding is justified and necessary if councils are to meet growth infrastructure costs and recommends government should co-fund these pressures,” said NZHOA Executive Director, Amy Robens.
In its report, the Commission also confirms that there is no massive funding shortfall when it comes to addressing the visitor sector’s impact, with international tourists already more than paying their fair share by contributing $1.8 billion per annum in GST alone.
“Hotel owners have long maintained that tourism benefits a wide spectrum of the economy and community. Targeted rates and bed taxes on accommodation owners are both unfair and disproportionate and therefore are not an effective and efficient way of raising growth infrastructure funding. NZPC rightly concludes that better use of existing tools and central government funds should be enough to address tourism funding,” she said.
“The report also highlights that the significant implementation, administration and enforcement costs required to introduce bed taxes may not even produce a net benefit.”
“NZHOA strongly believes that funding and financing growth infrastructure should not fall so heavily on local councils or commercial accommodation providers. Rather it should be the responsibility of central government.
It’s gratifying that the Productivity Commission has found the government should be more fairly and systematically distributing existing funding to councils. Ensuring we, as a country, are serviced by modern and competitive infrastructure is a NZ Inc problem requiring NZ Inc solutions,” Amy Robens said.
NZHOA provides quality industry leadership for the sector through clear and unambiguous representation on a range of issues impacting hotel owners nationwide.
-ENDS-
NZHOA has formed to be a peak industry body and a single united voice for hotel owners across New Zealand. Its foundation members include the Scenic Hotels Group, CP Group, Event Hospitality and Millennium & Copthorne Hotels New Zealand, which represent a significant percentage of the total hotel rooms owned and operated in New Zealand.
For more information, please contact:
Mary-Ann Freeman
Ph: 0272 931 641 or Email: info@nzhoa.co.nz
