New Zealand tourism operators struggle with rising fuel costs
New Zealand tourism operators are under severe cost pressure from fuel prices that have risen sharply since the Iran war. Industry bodies are asking the government for a temporary fuel-tax cut, while many businesses have been forced to raise prices by 12 to 18 percent.
Tourism Industry Aotearoa (TIA) President Rebecca Ingram told RNZ Business in an exclusive interview that the sector is facing 'cost pressures that are hard to absorb' over the past eight weeks. Fuel costs for domestic tourism operators have risen 38 percent since the Iran war began on 8 March. The average bus fare on the Auckland-Queenstown route has gone from NZ$145 to NZ$178, and scenic helicopter tours from NZ$580 to NZ$720.
Fiordland-based Real Journeys and Bay of Islands-based Ulvi Tourism reported an average 23 percent cost increase per customer over the past eight weeks. The sector employs 195,000 people directly and contributes NZ$16.5 billion to GDP annually; the decline in market share of Chinese and Japanese tourists from 23 percent to 18 percent is a second source of pressure for the sector.
In a joint submission to the Treasury, TIA requested that the fuel tax be cut by 14 cents per litre for a six-month period. Finance Minister Nicola Willis said the request would be 'considered carefully', but noted the budget impact would reach NZ$380 million annually. New Zealand tourism operators expect international visitor numbers to fall by 4 to 6 percent year on year over the remainder of 2026.
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