Tourism branding administrators and other non-producers in the tourism industry are predicting that an eco-socially sensitive world would beat a path to our doorway because of the introduction of New Zealand's ETS guilt tax. They say that ETS will solidify New Zealand's rightful place in the world as the epitome of a clean, green 100% pure country.
We say that ETS could pose a major barrier to tourism.
We were interested in a recent Otago University research found that consumers care more about the price of fresh produce than its origin or how much of an impact it has on the environment.
Today we see that another study has found that increased fuel prices that will be partly imposed by ETS will not necessarily deter tourists from travelling to New Zealand, but they are likely to spend less once they're here.
"Associate Professor Susanne Becken, lead researcher for the Tourism and Oil project, says most tourists are not price sensitive, because New Zealand is not a cheap holiday destination. She says tourists are willing to pay increased prices for travelling within New Zealand and also for tourist attractions.
But Ms Becken says their research has found tourists are likely to make cuts, by eliminating visits to some destinations, eating at restaurants and making compromises on accommodation.
She says Asia is the most price sensitive of New Zealand's major tourism markets."
ETS has been introduced as a guilt-tax to change Kiwi's behavior of enjoying a modern society. It is worrying that domestic travel is a major target.
At least we can cling on to the hope that ETS will follow most other government initiatives that attempted to control social behavior that ended up failing miserably;-)
