Local Tourism Dividend

Tourism supports businesses and jobs throughout New Zealand, but the communities that host visitors also carry the costs. Visitor numbers put pressure on local roads, wastewater systems, public toilets, rubbish collection, freedom-camping facilities, public spaces and other council infrastructure.

Visitors pay GST, and international visitors also pay the International Visitor Levy. Central government collects that revenue, while councils and their ratepayers meet many of the local costs. ACT’s Local Tourism Dividend will return $1 to a community for every commercial guest night it hosts.

The more visitors a community attracts, the more support it will receive. This applies the same principle ACT has secured for housing growth: when councils help enable economic activity that generates revenue for central government, they should share in the benefits.

ACT's full Local Tourism Dividend policy can be found here.

ACT will:

• Make an automatic annual payment to every territorial authority of $1 for each domestic and international commercial guest night recorded in its area through the Accommodation Data Programme.

• Base each payment on the most recently completed 12 months of guest-night data.

• Require no applications, matching funding or negotiations with central government.

• Provide approximately $40.6 million a year to councils based on 2026 guest nights, including $8.2 million for Auckland, $4.9 million for Queenstown and $2 million for Rotorua.

• Give councils flexibility to fund local roads, parking, water and wastewater infrastructure, public toilets, rubbish collection, freedom-camping facilities, public spaces, visitor amenities, events infrastructure and other services affected by visitor demand.

• Allow the Dividend to replace rates funding already being spent on eligible services, reducing the burden on local ratepayers.

• Fund the Dividend from the existing tourism appropriation instead of imposing a new bed tax that would raise prices and create more bureaucracy for accommodation businesses.

In our team’s words:

ACT Leader David Seymour says:

“Councils will receive $1 for every guest night in their area, funded from the GST and visitor levies tourists already pay.

“If revenues allow and councils use funds wisely, the $1 rate may rise over time. This policy fixes a real problem without adding another charge to the hotel bill or expanding government,” says Mr Seymour.

“Households and businesses live within their means. Government should too. New taxes start small and tend to grow - this policy avoids that trap and keeps prices competitive for visitors.

“New Zealand is a top tourist destination but that success causes strains on local infrastructure. Ratepayers are too often left to pick up the bill. ACT’s Local Tourism Dividend gives councils the funding to keep pace, easing pressure on wastewater, public toilets, rubbish collection, freedom-camping facilities, and other services.