"The increase will be a barrier to the almost 1.2 million Australians who travel to New Zealand annually. Australia is our largest and most valuable visitor market and our aim is to encourage travel here."
Mr Thompson said in a statement this week the Australian Government's budget announcement it was increasing its passenger movement charge from July 1 by $A8 to $A55 came when the association and the Tourism and Transport Forum Australia were lobbying for the tax to be cut.
"We have been pushing for a seamless border experience that will increase the flow of transtasman travel, with streamlined border processing and 'mate's rates' to halve the passenger movement charge for Kiwis and Australians.
Instead, the Australian Government has imposed this hefty increase on a tax that is already high. A family of four Aussies holidaying in New Zealand will have to pay $NZ280 departure tax just to leave their country."
