Ryan Bridge: The Nats will eventually back a bed tax

Tourism Minister Louise Upston is getting advice from officials on a bed tax. Christopher Luxon told us that last week.

They're not being explicit about it yet, but the idea is a no-brainer and will eventually happen.

In the Auckland deal Luxon did with Wayne Brown last week, they promised to investigate one. Wayne took this to mean the thing would be introduced by 2027, though we have an election before then obviously.

We've just had new visitor numbers drop, we're back to 92% of pre-Covid numbers. 3.5 million internationals a year.

Great. But the roads and housing and pipes can't take much more. The Government's goal is almost 5 million a year.

In Queenstown, for every single ratepayer funding local infrastructure, you've got 30 to 34 international tourists hiking, skiing, and smashing a Ferg burger. The ratio is 1:30! In Auckland, it's 1:1.

Tourist hotspots with small resident populations struggle to fund what's required. Roads, amenities, and housing suffer as a result.

And the Government has so far been turning around and saying no to a bed tax for them. They want 5%.

They're doing this because they don't like the word tax and made promises, but as I've said before, they'll U-turn on this position because it makes no sense.

You can't rely on a 1:30 ratio.

Rod Drury lives down that way, and he reckon we need a model like Aspen and Colorado, similar mountain towns, where they use tourism revenues to fund core infrastructure, not just marketing.

"90% of local lodging tax can be spent on affordable housing, childcare for workers, and capital improvements like trails and community assets, with only 10% required to stay in pure promotion..."

It's only a matter of time before we do the same.

Ryan Bridge is a New Zealand broadcaster who has worked on many current affairs television and radio shows. He currently hosts Newstalk ZB's Early Edition - where this article was sourced.