An island destination that relies on tourism for a large part of its economy and has added a tax to help environmental conservation may sound familiar to Hawaiʻi residents, but this story is about New Zealand.
New Zealand has moved faster than many other places when it comes to aspects of environmental and cultural protections.
For example, it was an early adopter with a tourism tax to help the environment. Back in 2019, New Zealand introduced a special tax on its international visitors to pay for tourism infrastructure and environmental conservation.
That was nearly a year before the COVID pandemic even started.
The tax began at NZ$35 — that’s a little more than $20 in the U.S.
Since then, it’s nearly tripled — and the government says it adds the equivalent of between US$75 million to US$100 million in revenue each year.
Critics say tripling that tax late in 2024 has slowed a recovery in the visitor industry.
But the latest figures just out from the government show 2025 was a year of gains for the hospitality business in New Zealand — with tourist arrivals topping 3.5 million for the first time since the pandemic.
That’s up 6% from a year earlier — but still only about 90% of its pre-COVID levels.
The biggest source of visitors is Australia — No. 2 is the United States, and No. 3 is China.
