嫌遊客太多破壞環境 新西蘭將向外國遊客徵稅
Tourists to New Zealand are set to be stung with a new tax but Australians have been given a free pass.
到新西蘭旅遊的外國遊客又要多準備一筆錢用來交稅，澳大利亞人除外。From late next year, international visitors heading to New Zealand will pay between NZ$25 and NZ$35 to get into the country, the government announced on Friday.
新西蘭政府15日宣佈，從明年下半年起，來新西蘭旅遊的外國遊客入境將需繳納25到35新西蘭元（合111到156元人民幣）的稅。However, Australian citizens and permanent residents, people from Pacific Islands Forum countries and children under two will be exempt.
不過，澳大利亞公民和永久居民、太平洋島國論壇成員國國民和兩歲以內幼童可以免交新稅。
The move reflects an ongoing debate within New Zealand about the environmental and infrastructure pressures put on the country by booming tourism growth.
此舉反映出新西蘭國內關於旅遊業興旺發展對環境和基礎設施產生壓力的持久爭論。
In the year to April, about 3.8 million tourists visited New Zealand, a country with a population of about 4.7 million.
到四月份爲止，今年已有約380萬外國遊客來新西蘭旅遊，新西蘭本國人口約爲470萬。Of those, the biggest group were Australians, making up 39%, or nearly 1.5m visits.
赴新西蘭旅遊人數最多的是澳大利亞人，近150萬人次到訪，佔39%。The conservation minister, Eugenie Sage, said she hoped visitors would understand.
新西蘭環保部部長尤金妮婭·塞吉說，她希望遊客能夠理解。“It’s only fair that they make a small contribution so that we can help provide the infrastructure they need and better protect the natural places they enjoy,” she said.
她說：“每個遊客出一點錢，讓我們能夠維護他們所需的基礎設施，更好地保護他們所享受的自然場所，這樣才公平。”The tax is expected to raise up to NZ$80m in the first year, with the money to be split between tourism infrastructure and conservation funding.
第一年所獲得的旅遊稅預計將達到8000萬新西蘭元，這部分錢將分給旅遊基礎設施和環保基金。It will be collected through a newly proposed electronic travel registration process.
旅遊稅將通過一個新的電子旅遊註冊程序來徵收。
