Tourism industry optimistic for summer despite ongoing challenges

The tourism industry is optimistic about the summer ahead with good forward bookings and more businesses planning to hire staff.

About 300 industry leaders from around the motu have gathered for the annual Tourism Summit Aotearoa in Christchurch on Wednesday.

The focus of this year's summit was how to create a distinctive destination amidst global uncertainty and competition.

Tourism Industry Aotearoa chief executive Rebecca Ingram said it was great to see real optimism across the sector.

That was reflected in a recent workforce survey with about half of respondents actively recruiting staff while close to 80 percent expected to recruit at least one new role in the next 12 months, she said.

"I think the signals are that we're in for a strong summer with international visitor arrivals looking positive and tourism businesses are certainly suggesting that they've got good forward bookings and that's providing confidence and also optimism across the industry."

It was off the back of a record July with overseas visitor arrivals topping pre-Covid levels for the first time in a single month since 2019.

But the industry was not without challenges with regions grappling with a lack of infrastructure to support growing visitors due to a lack of sustainable tourism funding, the cost of living and fuel prices, the need to hire more workers to cater for growth, and adapting to more frequent storms.

Ingram said part of the focus this summit was ensuring the industry was inclusive, sustainable and built purposefully, not by default.

"So distinctive by design is about making sure we're making really conscious choices to ensure that the tourism industry in New Zealand is developing really positively, we're contributing well, but also we're standing out on a world stage because we do need to compete actively with other destinations around the world," she said.

"We've got to make sure that what we're offering in New Zealand does feel uniquely New Zealand."

With the election only days away, she was proud to see tourism featuring prominently in conversations in the lead up.

"Discussions around the international visitor levy, how we fund councils to be able to invest in tourism infrastructure at place, and discussions around conservation and the future of tourism have been more prevalent this year than ever before," she said.

Earlier this year the industry called for the next government to deliver a sustainable funding model so communities in popular destinations were not left to pick up the tab for under-pressure visitor infrastructure.

In June, Regional Tourism New Zealand urged all political parties to commit to a national accommodation levy.

The Greens had since promised to give councils the power to set up a bed levy while National backtracked on a bed tax, which was earlier flagged in the Auckland deal and instead pledged to divvy up part of the international visitor levy with councils.

ACT promised a local tourism dividend where councils received $1 from every guest night in their area that was funded by existing levies and GST, while Labour leader Chris Hipkins previously said if local government wanted to introduce a bed levy, they should be able to, but it would be up to them.

New Zealand First said it backed the city deals made with Auckland and Queenstown which called for similar levies as long as they did not hit New Zealanders.

Ingram encouraged parties of all colours to back the industry's strategy - Tourism 2050 - which set out 10 key actions it aimed to progress.