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New Zealand is planning to introduce entry fees for foreign tourists at four of its most popular natural attractions.

The measure aims to generate funding for conservation projects while boosting employment opportunities.

“Tourists make a massive contribution to our economy, and no one wants that to change,” said conservation minister Tama Potaka.

“But I have heard many times from friends visiting from overseas their shock that they can visit some of the most beautiful places in the world for free.”

Tourist fees will generate €32 million to invest in natural sites

Under the proposed scheme, foreign visitors will be required to pay between NZ$20 (€10) and NZ$40 (€20) to access some natural landmarks.

The initiative, announced by Prime Minister Christopher Luxon alongside Potaka, forms part of a wider economic plan to boost employment opportunities and increase wages.

The first sites to introduce fees will be Cathedral Cove/Te Whanganui-a-Hei, Tongariro Crossing, Milford Sound and Aoraki Mount Cook.

At these attractions, international tourists often account for 80 per cent of total visitors.

“It’s only fair that at these special locations, foreign visitors make an additional contribution,” Potaka said.

“For the conservation estate, that will mean up to $62m [€32m] per year in revenue, which will be directly reinvested into those same areas, so we can keep investing in the sites that underpin so much of our tourism sector.”

The officials confirmed that entry to the four natural sites will remain free for New Zealanders.

“It’s our collective inheritance and Kiwis shouldn’t have to pay to see it,” Luxon said.

“If we’re serious about keeping Kiwis at home, creating jobs, and increasing wages for all New Zealanders, we can’t afford to keep saying no to every opportunity that comes our way.”

The entry fees are expected to be introduced in 2027.

‘Most significant weakening of conservation law in a generation’

Potaka added that the scheme takes advantage of untapped potential in tourism development within conservation land (publicly owned, protected areas that make up a third of New Zealand territory) due to “outdated rules”.

The changes will be part of a wider reform of conservation law that will also make selling or exchanging conservation land easier and allow more business activities to operate without requiring a permit.

“Many New Zealanders already run outstanding businesses on the conservation estate – from guided walks and ski fields, to filming documentaries, grazing sheep and cattle, or hosting concerts and building cell phone towers,” said Prime Minister Luxon.

“But to do any of that, you need a concession – and the concessions regime is totally broken, often taking years to obtain or renew and leaving businesses in a cycle of bureaucratic limbo.”

However, critics say the loosening of regulations will potentially threaten the environment and biodiversity in these protected areas.

Green party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said Luxon is choosing profit over the protection of nature.

“That tells us everything we need to know about who he thinks he works for. It’s not regular people, future generations or a healthy environment,” she said in a statement to the Guardian.

Nicola Toki, chief executive of New Zealand’s largest conservation organisation, Forest & Bird, said the changes would open a door to “short-sighted proposals that would make it easier to sell off or commercially exploit these areas.”

“This feels less like policy and more like an international online auction of the very places that define who we are. We don’t want a three-year term killing off over three billion years of natural evolution,” she said in a statement.

“These reforms represent the most significant weakening of conservation law in a generation.”