Tourism Rate to be Spread Across the District

The Tasman District Council is proposing to change the way it collects the current Targeted Tourism Rate.

Introduced two years ago, the targeted rate was paid by those in Tasman who benefited directly through tourism to the Region with the monies collected being provided to Nelson Tasman Tourism to fund destination marketing.

The proposed change to be included in the upcoming draft Long Term Plan consultation is that the tourism rate be reduced significantly and spread across all rateable properties in the District.

“Over the last two years the Targeted Rate has been managed by the Council, there has been considerable discussion about the annual return and the number of properties that have not been identified leading to accusations of inequity as well as the time the Council has had to invest in the management of the rate for the level of return. For these reasons the Council is proposing a district-wide charge,” said Mayor Richard Kempthorne.

The proposed rate is $20 plus GST per rateable property.

The Draft Long Term Plan will be released for public consultation on 23 February, closing 30 March.