Photo: RNZ
The age for New Zealand’s working holiday visas should be raised to 50 to help hike international visitor numbers, a tourism operator says.
Currently, working holiday visas are available to people aged between 18- and 35-years-old. The visa allows visitors from recognised countries to work, travel and study in Aotearoa for up to 12 months, but visitors from Canada and the UK can stay for longer.
The number of working holiday visa’s has been steadily declining, with an 11 percent drop in the year ending in February.
Tim Alpe, the managing director of the LyLo hostel in central Auckland, believes extending the age for the visa would make New Zealand a more attractive destination.
“If we raised the age, we’d be very unique. I think there’d be really good demand for people wanting to come down and do their OE [overseas experience] somewhat later in life, or do it again,” Alpe said.
Alpe said the over 35s were a good market to tap into because they are likely to have more disposable income and time. He added they are seeing more people over 35 travelling overseas.
“It’s people who are having career changes, who have reassessed after Covid… They may have their kids who have recently left home, there may be a loose end and go ‘actually, I wouldn’t mind going and doing an OE’… Why not come down to New Zealand,” he said.
Alpe said every annual working holiday visa adds about $60,000 to the economy. He said people aged over 30 stay spend more on average than those under.
“I don’t see what the risk is for us. We’re desperate to get people into the country. We are desperate to open ourselves up and get tourism back to being the major export earner. So, for us, anything more than what we are currently getting is a bonus,” Alpe said.
The government is hoping to welcome more visitors to New Zealand. It is aiming to return to 2019 international visitor arrivals – 3.89 million by 2026 – and double the 2023 value of tourism exports by 2034 to roughly $19.8 billion with international visitor arrivals sitting around 4.78 million.
Around $35 million has been announced for projects aimed at attracting more visitors.
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