Mat Woods: Destination Queenstown & Lake Wanaka Tourism CEO on Tourism numbers are still looking up

Early Edition with Ryan Bridge · Apr 14, 2026 · 2m · transcript

Queenstown's asking for a bed-tax as tourist numbers roar back.

Stats NZ data shows the country's now at 92% of pre-Covid levels, with February visits up more than 53 thousand annually.

Chinese tourist numbers jumped the most in February, followed by Australia and Taiwan.

Destination Queenstown and Lake Wanaka Tourism Chief Executive Mat Woods told Ryan Bridge a bed-tax for tourists would come in handy country-wide.

He says for tourism to be our number one export, we need to be maintaining and investing in infrastructure.

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