New Zealand agents seek Fiji tax talks over bookings

The Travel Agents' Association of New Zealand has sought urgent talks with the Fijian Government over Fiji's new Tourism Services Tax, warning it could leave New Zealand travellers with existing bookings facing extra charges.

Fiji's new 5% Tourism Services Tax is due to apply to tourism services such as hotels, restaurants, and tour operators with annual turnover above FJ$2 million. The revenue is earmarked to support Fiji Airways.

TAANZ said it does not oppose Fiji introducing the tax and accepts the country's right to set its own tax policy. Its concern is the implementation, particularly the short lead time, limited consultation, and the effect on trips booked or paid for before the tax takes effect.

At issue is whether travellers who agreed to prices months earlier could be asked to pay more if their travel takes place after the new rules begin. TAANZ said that would affect a significant number of existing Fiji bookings held by New Zealand travel agents, wholesalers, and tour operators.

Travel is often booked well in advance, with many holidays paid in full long before departure. TAANZ said that makes the transition especially sensitive for families travelling during the September and October school holiday period, as well as for group, wedding, and corporate bookings where contracts have already been settled.

"Our concern is simple: travellers who booked and agreed a price before 1 September should not be hit with an additional tax simply because they are travelling after that date.

"There is a significant volume of existing Fiji bookings where the price has already been agreed, and in many cases the customer has paid in full. Those travellers have every reasonable expectation that their holiday is paid for.

"They should not suddenly be faced with an additional cost because a new tax has been introduced after they made their booking," said Julie White, Chief Executive Officer of the Travel Agents' Association of New Zealand.

TAANZ said practical questions also remain unresolved, including who is responsible for collecting the tax, how it should be applied to net rates and existing contracts, and where responsibility sits between suppliers and agents.

The association argued that the tax should be applied according to the date a booking or purchase is made, rather than the date the travel service is delivered. Under that approach, bookings made before the start of the new tax would be grandfathered under the pricing and terms in place when customers paid.

That reflects a wider concern in the travel trade that retrospective changes can create friction across distribution chains. Agents and wholesalers may find themselves having to explain, collect, or absorb charges that were not built into contracts agreed earlier.

White expanded on those concerns in a further statement.

"Families have planned and budgeted for these holidays months in advance. There are also group, wedding, corporate, and other large bookings where contracts and pricing have already been finalised.

"Reopening those arrangements creates uncertainty for travellers. Travel agents, wholesalers, and tour operators are stuck in the middle. They are being asked to explain and potentially administer a cost they did not create, could not have anticipated, and have no control over.

"At the same time, basic practicalities remain unclear, including who is responsible for collecting the tax, how it applies to net rates and existing contracts, and where a supplier ends and an agent begins. These questions need clarity not only for existing bookings, but for new bookings from 1 September as well," White said.

Key market

New Zealand is one of Fiji's largest visitor markets. More than 219,000 New Zealanders travelled to Fiji in 2025, accounting for 22.2% of all visitor arrivals and making New Zealand the second-largest source market after Australia, according to figures cited by TAANZ.

TAANZ said New Zealand also remained Fiji's second-largest source market in the first half of 2026. That position means any uncertainty around pricing and tax treatment could affect a substantial pipeline of forward bookings.

TAANZ is pursuing the issue alongside the Australian Travel Industry Association, which has raised similar concerns about how the tax could affect existing bookings. The two industry bodies are seeking greater clarity for both travellers and travel sellers before the new arrangements begin.

White said the association was not asking Fiji to reverse the policy itself.

"We are not asking Fiji to reconsider its right to introduce the tax. We are asking for a sensible implementation that recognises the way international travel is actually bought and sold.

"Grandfathering existing bookings is the fairest outcome. It protects travellers who purchased in good faith, gives the travel industry certainty, and allows the new tax to be implemented cleanly for new bookings from 1 September," White said.

She added that Fiji's importance to New Zealand holidaymakers made certainty around existing bookings especially important.

"New Zealanders have an incredibly strong relationship with Fiji. It is one of our most popular international holiday destinations, and there is a substantial volume of forward bookings already sitting with New Zealand travel agents, wholesalers, and tour operators.

"Providing certainty for those existing bookings will help maintain Kiwi traveller confidence in Fiji and enable our travel industry to continue strongly supporting and selling the destination," White said.