Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown has taken out a full page advertisement in the Weekend Herald calling on central government to return around $220 million a year to councils to cover the local cost of hosting visitors.
His office claims central government collects around $10.5 billion in tourism related revenue each year, including $4.4 billion in GST on tourism spending in the year to March 2025. It argues councils receive no direct income from visitor spending, while ratepayers fund most of the infrastructure, services and management needed to host them.
The $220 million figure is equivalent to five per cent of the GST collected on tourism spending. Brown has proposed it be returned to councils to close what the advertisement calls the local tourism funding gap. Around 114 supporters have signed the accompanying New Zealand Tourism Funding Charter, which calls for a long term national approach to funding the infrastructure, services, event attraction and destination marketing that support tourism across the country.
The push lands in the final days of an election campaign in which tourism funding has become a dividing line between the parties.
The Government has ruled out a bed tax in August as part of its no new taxes pledge, despite the Government having agreed to explore accommodation levies in its regional deals with Auckland and Queenstown Lakes. In September the party instead proposed giving councils a share of the existing International Visitor Levy from 1 July 2027 if it returns to government. Under that policy, the Department of Conservation would receive $100 million a year, $50 million a year would go to a new tourism priorities fund, and the remainder would be distributed to councils according to their share of international visitor guest nights. National estimates councils would receive $385 million over four years, with Auckland eligible for $19.1 million in the first year and Queenstown Lakes $17.1 million.
Brown described that policy at the time as a step in the right direction but not a long term solution. He said Auckland needs $27 million a year for major events and destination marketing, and that events including the ASB Classic, All Blacks tests and SailGP would remain at risk.