Six out of 10 tourism executives believe the increase to the departure tax will hit arrivals from New Zealand with half also expecting a downturn from China and Japan.
The quarterly Tourism and Transport Forum/Mastercard sentiment report showed the July 1 Passenger Movement Charge remained a key concern in the industry following the $8 increase to $55.
The exchange rate remained a worry with 61% naming it as their top concern but that was down from 72% a year ago.
Taxes and charges are becoming an increasing barrier for tourism growth and is now the second major impediment. Overall industry sentiment fell to 85 points, slightly below the expected 87 points.
Optimism in the domestic market improved however, rising to 90 points, six more than projected.
