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New Zealand doubles tax on inbound travellers
Foreign tourists arriving in New Zealand will be stung by a more than double hike of the border processing levy (BPL).
From the start of December, the BPL increases from $20.11 to $43.73 per airline passenger return trip and from $21.06 to $36.72 for cruise passengers.
The BPL is used to pay for customs operations and biosecurity services.
The fee hike has unsurprisingly disappointed the tourism industry, especially as there is still no news when borders will actually open for foreign visitors.
"We are surprised the BPL is going up before we know when our borders will actually open and what the demand for travel will be," Tourism Industry Aotearoa Chief Executive Chris Roberts says.
"The new fees are supposed to recover the full cost of the border services over the next three years, but it is impossible to accurately predict what the travel patterns will be."
"Having secure border services in a pandemic is a critical public health requirement and it is not sensible to reintroduce the full cost recovery model while border restrictions remain in place, Roberts added.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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