President Trevor Knight says the bed & breakfast in question is not an @home NEW ZEALAND member.
“However, as we could foresee this situation happening, we advised our members by general email on 20 April that apart from a slight adjustment to cover proposed increases in GST and other fixed charges, we felt their room rate should not be substantially different to what they would charge during a normal high season period. I and my board feel that to hike prices excessively during RWC 2011 could cause future damage to the tourism industry both for accommodation providers and for other services reliant on tourism,” Mr Knight says.
“I feel it is very short sighted to charge supporters accommodation costs that are highly inflated. The large profits made will be superseded by a loss of tourism business in the following years as visitors burdened with these prices return home and tell their friends what they paid to stay in a New Zealand bed and breakfast. We currently have a reputation in this country for supplying a great accommodation experience at a reasonable cost and it would be foolish to destroy this image for short term profit.”
Another concern is that there will be visitors travelling in our country who are not here specifically for RWC 2011 and they will be penalised by inflated prices because of the sports event taking place, Mr Knight says.
There is also a danger that if accommodation costs are extreme, providers of other services such as restaurants, cafes, taxis services etc. will raise their normal charges by an extortionate amount, and both visitors and New Zealanders will bear the cost of this, Mr Knight warns.
“RWC 2011 provides an opportunity for all involved with tourism to provide quality service and value for money so that supporters will return to their own countries and act as ambassadors promoting New Zealand. We can’t afford not do it right, “Right here, right now”.
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