Two-thirds of Australians support introducing a tourism tax in the country to mitigate the negative cultural and environmental impacts of travel, a new survey has found.
The research by InsureandGo revealed 60 per cent of residents would like to see the tax implemented for international visitors as travel demand swells.
New South Wales had 63 per cent of its residents vote yes for the tax, followed by South Australia with 61 per cent and Victoria with 59 per cent.
“NSW receives the lion’s share of short-term arrivals each year, while in South Australia, international and domestic visitor expenditure rose an impressive three per cent over the 12 months leading up to September last year,” InsureandGo chief commercial officer Jonathan Etkind said.
“It’s not surprising that residents from those states feel the impact of visitors on their precious natural resources and why they feel moved to protect them.”
The survey, which was commissioned by InsureandGo with an independent panel of 1006 Australians, sought to understand how residents feel about tourism taxes, particularly in light of increased sustainability concerns.
It also found 63 per cent of Australians were happy to pay a tourism tax when travelling overseas, while another 11 per cent believe taxes should be even more costly.
Young people aged between 18 and 30 were found to be the most eco-conscious travellers while older people aged over were least in favour.
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“What’s heartening, however, is that only a minority of 37 per cent of respondents don’t support tourism taxes, demonstrating just how many Australians support the concept of sustainable travel,” Etkind said.
The new findings come more than a month after Bali introduced a tax requiring all travellers to pay $15 before arrival to fund efforts to conserve culture and environment.
The Indonesian island joined a growing list of countries around the world that have introduced tourism taxes, including the Netherlands with a 12.5 per cent hotel tourist levy and New Zealand charging international visitors a $32 levy.
