More than $352 million of refunds and credits has been returned to New Zealanders who had overseas travel cancelled due to Covid-19
The Government's Consumer Travel Reimbursement Scheme was launched in October 2020 to reimburse people's cancelled travel plans
"Working with the travel sector, we are helping New Zealanders retrieve the money owed to them by overseas travel suppliers," says Consumer Affairs Minister David Clark.
"The scheme has seen millions of dollars locked up offshore returned to everyday New Zealanders, who were at risk of never seeing a cent.
'This means more money is coming back into the local economies as Kiwis now look to holiday domestically supporting the local tourism industry.
'The scheme is an excellent example of Government and industry working together for the benefit of New Zealanders. The expertise of the domestic travel sector continues to be crucial in helping get back money tied up in complex stranded bookings."
The scheme pays New Zealand-based travel agents 7.5 per cent of the value of all cash refunds they are able to successfully recover for their customers and 5 per cent of the value of all credits successfully secured or rebooked for international travel.
For example, if an agent recoups $10,000 in a cash refund on cancelled travel, the customer gets that money back and the agent will receive $750.
If it's a credit for the $10,000 cancelled travel, the customer gets the credit and the agent receives $500.
The travel sector and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment estimated around $690 million of New Zealanders' money was locked up because of travel cancelled due to Covid-19.
'By incentivising travel agencies to recover funds on behalf of their customers, the scheme continues to benefit both consumers and industry. I want to thank the travel industry for their work supporting customers during such uncertain times and encourage applications to be made right up until the scheme ends,” says Clark.
A full breakdown of scheme payment recipients can be found on MBIE's website.
Applications to the Covid-19 Travel Reimbursement Scheme close on June 30.
5 comments
Tom Ranger
Posted on 04-03-2021 12:06 | By Tom Ranger
It's like they have an endless supply of (our)money to give away isn't it. Why should we have to pay for the decisions of people wealthy enough to book such holidays. Why are we accepting liability and paying for what is...the risk these businesses took when establishing themselves. Should they not be trying to recoup their clients costs anyway without free money thrown at them? That's another 600 odd state houses we won't be getting.
Bitterness
Posted on 04-03-2021 14:22 | By Slim Shady
Well isn’t it the wealthy that pay the most tax to provide your state houses? And bail out Air New Zealand and provide all the other handouts? But then when ask for a little refund or credit you begrudge it and talk about money as though they didn’t put it. You need to get that chip off your shoulder.
@ Slim Shady
Posted on 04-03-2021 18:09 | By This Guy
The wealthy paying tax? Don't make me laugh. I guess you missed that report that showed 40% of millionaires are paying less tax than the lowest earners.
Tom Ranger
Posted on 05-03-2021 08:26 | By Tom Ranger
I'm sorry Slim, but when 352 million dollars of tax-payers money is simply given to businesses for doing what they should be doing anyway. It raises questions for me. They have a legal and social responsibility to recoup those losses for themselves and their clients. No free-money required here.
@thisguy
Posted on 05-03-2021 12:45 | By Slim Shady
You have made the same mistake as many and do not understand the difference between % and absolute figures. Yes, the report found that 40% of ‘the wealthiest’ paid a slightly lower % of their income than ‘low earners’. So for a simple example, if you earn a million and pay 14% you are paying $140k in tax. If you earn $50k and pay 15% you are paying $7.5k in tax. Therefore, as you can see, the wealthy pay far more in tax.
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