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Speaker 1: Now the idea of a livy increase isn't you. In fact,

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Speaker 1: in twenty twenty two, when Stuart Nash was in charge

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Speaker 1: of tourism, he argued to increase the levey to as

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Speaker 1: much as two hundred dollars and he's with us. Very

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Speaker 1: good morning to you away, Mike.

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Speaker 2: Very well.

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Speaker 1: Indeed, when you're discussing the stuff around the cabinet table,

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Speaker 1: how much cold hard data is there on this if

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Speaker 1: you increase it, they won't come things? Or are we

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Speaker 1: just making it up as we go along.

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Speaker 2: There's a lot of day But first of all, let

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Speaker 2: me just clarify something that will last. What's your own

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Speaker 2: bulie anymore. Yeah, there's a hell of a lot of

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Speaker 2: this money that has gone into local government. Now, keeping

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Speaker 2: in mind, make you just said the Prime Minister give

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Speaker 2: local government to serve as they stopped spending money on

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Speaker 2: basal projects. When I was Minister for tourism, A hell

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Speaker 2: of a lot of this money went to the data

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Speaker 2: infrastructure that tourists expect and let's infect pullbots and cap

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Speaker 2: arts and freehom camp and such and all that sort

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Speaker 2: of caras. So to say that this money doesn't go

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Speaker 2: back into tourism infrastructure, it's just bullshit, right.

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Speaker 1: So having said that, why couldn't you get it to

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Speaker 1: two hundred dollars?

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Speaker 2: Well, it was a big debating in the cabinet table.

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Speaker 2: I and you know, I'm not allowed to divulge what

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Speaker 2: happening around the table even now, but there was a

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Speaker 2: point in time where where there really was it was

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Speaker 2: fifty fifty. The thing is is when when tourists come

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Speaker 2: to New Zealm, they have an expectation of what they're

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Speaker 2: going to see. Right, So for people to say tourists

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Speaker 2: aren't going to come to New zild because a're going

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Speaker 2: to pay an extra hundred dollars, which is about sixty

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Speaker 2: five uisuls, which is the price of a well, very

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Speaker 2: good the bottle of Craigie Range by the way, still

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Speaker 2: waiting that that does to be delivered. That aside people

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Speaker 2: who are coming over from the States, who are coming

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Speaker 2: over from europe An extra sixty five dollars on a

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Speaker 2: two three four thousand dollars ticket makes no different to

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Speaker 2: what we've got to do, Mike is actually has the

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Speaker 2: infrastructure in place that meets the expectations of, not exceed

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Speaker 2: the expectations of people are coming over here.

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Speaker 1: Yes, the thing about I would team to agree with

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Speaker 1: you in theory. I agree with you. But then I

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Speaker 1: get Grant Webster from Tourism Holdings On and he's in

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Speaker 1: touch with it. He says it is a physical, tangible

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Speaker 1: barrier and we're not that attractive. And the last thing

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Speaker 1: you do is he costs on.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, what I think if we're not. First of all,

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Speaker 2: you say that's fund is purely there's one hundred percent

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Speaker 2: hypothecated and very transparent. What that means is all the

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Speaker 2: money goes into tourism infrastructure or into managing the darker state.

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Speaker 2: And keeping in mind it costs about ninety five million

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Speaker 2: dollars for doctor to manage the estate, to keep it

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Speaker 2: up to a script, to a level where international tourists

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Speaker 2: expect it to be. The other thing is when I

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Speaker 2: hear people say, oh, we're no longer attractive. If you

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Speaker 2: think the difference between sixty five YUS dollars is going

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Speaker 2: to make, is the difference between coming here or coming

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Speaker 2: to another country your bloody dreaming. Well, one thing I

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Speaker 2: would change with this fee is I would give some

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Speaker 2: of it to Tourism Museum to ensure that they have

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Speaker 2: money to go out there the bust forward in the

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Speaker 2: international markets because there are a number of other countries

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Speaker 2: that's been a lot more. But what we need to

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Speaker 2: do is ensure that the money is well spent, delivers

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Speaker 2: on the infrastructure, delivers on the docker state and managing

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Speaker 2: that and creating an automate experience. So keep in mind

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Speaker 2: like this many can't go in to pay for text

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Speaker 2: capsule in with a big black hole of his health

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Speaker 2: or is it has to be spit on tourism infrastructure

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Speaker 2: as it has to be speaking with doctor.

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Speaker 1: State and want on your nice to talk to you.

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Speaker 1: Appreciate it very much. Student naw Tourism, former Tourism Minister.

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