New Zealand will soon begin charging entry fees to international visitors at four of its most iconic natural sites. The initiative is part of a broader plan to generate revenue for conservation and create local employment opportunities.
Cathedral Cove, New Zealand/marina/Unsplash
Entry fees to fund conservation and jobs
Foreign tourists will be required to pay between NZ$20 (€10) and NZ$40 (€20) to access sites including Cathedral Cove/Te Whanganui-a-Hei, the Tongariro Crossing, Milford Sound, and Aoraki Mount Cook, as reported by Euro News.
These destinations are heavily visited by international travellers, who make up around 80% of total visitors.
“Tourists make a massive contribution to our economy, and no one wants that to change,” said Conservation Minister Tama Potaka.
“But I have heard many times from friends visiting from overseas their shock that they can visit some of the most beautiful places in the world for free.”
Revenue to be reinvested into protected areas
The new scheme is expected to generate up to NZ$62 million (€32 million) annually, which will be reinvested into the conservation estate.
“It’s only fair that at these special locations, foreign visitors make an additional contribution,” Potaka said.
“For the conservation estate, that will mean up to $62m [€32m] per year in revenue, which will be directly reinvested into those same areas, so we can keep investing in the sites that underpin so much of our tourism sector.”
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon confirmed that New Zealanders would not be charged to visit the four sites.
“It’s our collective inheritance, and Kiwis shouldn’t have to pay to see it,” Luxon said.
“If we’re serious about keeping Kiwis at home, creating jobs, and increasing wages for all New Zealanders, we can’t afford to keep saying no to every opportunity that comes our way.”
The entry fees are expected to come into effect in 2027.
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Conservation law reforms spark criticism
The new fee scheme is part of a larger reform package aimed at updating New Zealand’s conservation laws. Potaka noted that the current framework is limiting tourism development on conservation land, which makes up roughly a third of the country’s territory.
He said the changes would streamline the process for businesses to operate on these lands by easing the permit system.
“Many New Zealanders already run outstanding businesses on the conservation estate—from guided walks and ski fields to filming documentaries, grazing sheep and cattle, or hosting concerts and building cell phone towers,” said Prime Minister Luxon.
“But to do any of that, you need a concession—and the concession regime is totally broken, often taking years to obtain or renew and leaving businesses in a cycle of bureaucratic limbo.”
Environmental groups warn of long-term damage
Environmental advocates have expressed serious concerns over the proposed legal reforms. Critics argue that loosening regulations will endanger biodiversity and open the door to commercial exploitation.
Chlöe Swarbrick, Green Party co-leader, condemned the move, saying it prioritises profit over environmental protection.
“That tells us everything we need to know about who he thinks he works for. It’s not regular people, future generations, or a healthy environment,” she said in a statement to The Guardian.
Nicola Toki, chief executive of Forest & Bird, New Zealand’s largest conservation organisation, warned that the changes would make it easier to sell or exploit protected land.
“This feels less like policy and more like an international online auction of the very places that define who we are. We don’t want a three-year term killing off over three billion years of natural evolution,” she said.
“These reforms represent the most significant weakening of conservation law in a generation.”
