KI Traveller's Levy Economic Impact Assessment - Kangaroo Island ...

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Commercial-in-Confidence KI Traveller’s Levy Impact Assessment geography of its major tourism attractions suggests that large amounts of road travel are undertaken by tourists. For example, TOMM data indicates that around three-quarters of tourists visit Flinders Chase National Park and Seal Bay and 43% Stokes Bay. Given the main entry points of Kingscote and Penneshaw (refer Figure 1.1, above), this provides at least an indication of the travel patterns of visitors. Irrespective, road travel is a major part of the KI tourism experience. As Chart 1.5 shows, nine in ten visitors to the Island use either their own car or a hired car to travel the Island, with just 10% using buses or other methods of transport. CHART 1.5: MAIN METHOD OF VISITOR TRANSPORT ON THE ISLAND, 2007-08 6% 2% 2% 7% 19% 38% Private vehicle - 2WD Private vehicle - 4WD Hired vehicle - 2WD Bus/coach tour Hired vehicle - 4WD 4WD tour Other 26% Source: TOMM Visitor Exit Survey Unlike most of the Island’s other road users, however, tourists make no direct contribution, and only negligible indirect contribution, to the cost of road maintenance or to infrastructure upkeep more generally. Rate revenue from properties used predominantly for tourism activities is modest and revenue from Council camping grounds is insufficient to cover maintenance costs for the areas and associated public conveniences. 7 While of course not all costs are – nor can be – recovered from direct users or beneficiaries, as the case studies in Section 1.4 next highlight, particularly insofar as national parks are concerned, direct charges are commonly applied to tourists to cover the costs of tourism infrastructure and facilities. Though in theory it may be possible to extract these costs from tourists indirectly (i.e. through rate-payers charging higher prices and in turn paying higher rates), such an approach can be complex and ineffective, and a direct levy offers a more targeted, more administrable alternative. 1.4 CASE STUDIES AND EXAMPLES Government authorities at a range of levels apply levies, charges and user-fees to the tourism industry to fund the cost of providing tourism-related services and to recoup the costs imposed on a region by high levels of tourism activity. Entrance charges at National Parks 7 JAC Comrie Pty Ltd (2008), p. 25. 11
Commercial-in-Confidence KI Traveller’s Levy Impact Assessment across the country are common, and several regions of high tourism activity have also introduced tourism levies on local businesses, or in some cases, directly on tourists. This section draws on several examples of such levies and charges, analysing how they are applied and, where possible, what the resulting impacts have been. Absent the application of statistical analysis, the conclusions which can be drawn in relation to the impacts are illustrative at best. The experiences of these examples are also drawn on throughout latter parts of this report to inform the analysis of a potential Traveller’s Levy on KI. 1.4.1 NATIONAL PARK CHARGES Many of Australia’s national parks charge a vehicle entry fee as a mechanism for recovering the costs associated with, for example, maintaining and improving visitor facilities; conserving local fauna and their habitats; protecting sites of ecological or cultural significance and/or controlling pests. One such prominent example of this is Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory. Kakadu National Park Entrance fees to Kakadu National Park have fluctuated markedly over recent years. In April 2004, following a review into the fee scheme, entrance fees were increased from $16.25 to $25 to cover a shortfall in operating revenue. Then, in July that year, the Prime Minister declared that the entrance fees would be abolished from December, with operational expenditure funded through other vehicles. More recently, the Federal Government has announced that an entrance fee of $25 for all persons 16 years and over will be reintroduced from 1 July 2010. Assessing how these changes have impacted on tourist numbers is hampered not only by the host of other variables that impact on visitation, but by the absence of a time-series of quality visitor data. TRA suggests that visitation grew from 180,000 in 2003 to 276,000 in 2005 before falling to 200,000 in 2007. However, data from the Department of Environment, Heritage, Water and the Arts, suggest visitation growing from 203,000 in 2005 (the earliest which data is publicly available) to 229,000 in 2008 – an average annual growth rate of 4.2%. 1.4.2 TOURISM LEVIES A number of regions also raise revenue from the tourism industry through levies on tourism businesses – either through direct charges or increased local rates – or in isolated cases, directly on tourists. This section overviews three of the more prominent examples of tourism industry levies. Sunshine Coast Regional Council From 1 July 2009 the Sunshine Coast Regional Council (comprising regions previously covered by Caloundra City Council, Maroochy Shire Council and Noosa Shire Council) will issue a tourism levy on businesses in the region, subject to the business being considered one of the following: short term accommodation and iconic tourism; or commercial and industrial businesses. 12
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KI Traveller's Levy Economic Impact Assessment - Kangaroo Island ...

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