Botswana Tourism Levy

AS of the 1st of June 2017 #Botswana Tourism will introduce a tourism levy of US$ 30 per person payable by all tourists, other than SADC Nationals, entering Botswana. When entering Botswana the US$ 30 is payable by cash or card and once a receipt is obtained you may proceed to immigration. 

The levy is payable at all ports of entry including airports and border posts.

The objective of the Levy is to raise funds for conservation and national tourism development in order to support the growth of the industry and broaden the tourism base, resultantly improving the lives of the people of Botswana.

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Cut ‘holiday’ tax

THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT will get more than A$1 billion (£513.9 billion) in the next financial year from its holiday tax on Australians travelling overseas to destinations and international visitors to the country.

The government currently applies an A$55 (£28.25) Passenger Movement Charge – or holiday tax – on Australian and international visitors departing the country on flights and cruise ships. It is anticipated to raise more A$1 billion in 2016-17.

The tax was introduced in 1995 to cover the cost of border and security controls at international gateways.

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Balearics tourist tax public consultation starts

PUBLIC consultation has begun on a planned #tourist #tax for Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera. 

#Balearics tourism officials say the tax, which is due to come into force on July 1, will add up to 1% to the price of holidays to the islands. The Association of British Travel Agents has already condemned the plans for the tax and pointed to the fact that the islands tried to impose an eco-tax of €1 (78p) a day back in 2002, but dropped it just a year later. The UK travel industry had hoped the tax would be dropped this time too, but plans are pressing ahead.

Biel Barcelo, vice-president of the Balearics and minister for tourism, said the tax was 'far less than the near 6% the hoteliers have increased their rates by on average this year'. Speaking to the Majorca news website, Majorca Daily Bulletin, he said the tax would fund the 'preservation and protection' of tourism in Balearics. He said the islands were simply following the lead of scores of European countries which already charge a tourist tax.

The tax applies to anyone staying overnight in a hotel, holiday home, or cruise ship and depends on the category of accommodation. It's €2 (£1.56) a night for four and five-star hotels and apartments, €1 (78p) for cruise ships and 50 cents (39p) for campsites and hostels. Children under 16 are exempt and the tax will be halved on the ninth day of any stay.

Officials expect the tax will raise approximately €60 million (£46.9 million) each year and say it will all be re-invested in the industry. It plans to develop a website on which visitors can see how the money is being spent. The islands are also tightening up on regulations for holiday rentals, giving more power to local councils to control standards. 

Approximately 3.4 million UK tourists visit the Balearic Islands each year, mostly to Majorca.

An ABTA spokeswoman said: ‘We are in regular contact with the authorities and we have written to the Balearic authorities for clarification on where money raised by the sustainable tourism tax will be spent, and which sustainability projects will benefit from it.’


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Cut ‘holiday’ tax, Australian government urged

THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT will get more than A$1 billion (£513.9 billion) in the next financial year from its holiday tax on Australians travelling overseas to destinations and international visitors to the country. 

The government currently applies an A$55 (£28.25) Passenger Movement Charge – or holiday tax – on Australian and international visitors departing the country on flights and cruise ships. It is anticipated to raise more A$1 billion in 2016-17.

The tax was introduced in 1995 to cover the cost of border and security controls at international gateways.

‘The A$55 Passenger Movement Charge has now morphed into a billion dollar holiday tax on Australians and international visitors leaving the country that grossly outstrips the A$247 million cost of processing passengers at the border,’ said Margy Osmond, CEO of the Tourism & Transport Forum Australia. ‘With more than 9.4 million Australians travelling overseas in the past year, the holiday tax has become a cash grab that goes straight into the federal government’s coffers. If you purchase a A$300 one way ticket from Sydney to Bali, $55 of that is now going to the federal government through its holiday tax. A lot of travellers would be questioning what they are getting for their hard earned money.

‘To make matters worse, we are also slugging the 7.4 million international visitors who are choosing #Australia to visit, who can easily chose another destination anywhere in the world, with this holiday tax. We should be growing our international visitations by cutting the cost of travel, not increasing it. We had more than one million Chinese visitors spending A$7.7 billion in the past 12 months – that is not something we should be jeopardizing with holiday taxes.’

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Malta’s 50c tourist eco-tax expected to raise €6 million a year

MALTA’S tourism minister Edward Zammit Lewis says the 50c (38p) per night tourist eco-tax, which will come into effect in April, is expected to generate approximately €6 million (£4.65 million) annually.

He said the tax will be capped at €5 (£3.88), and that the income would be used for a public-private partnership scheme which will include the #Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association and the government.

It will also be used to refurbish and maintain public spaces in tourist areas.

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Spain's tourism minister brands Balearics eco-tax 'crazy'

SPAIN’S tourism minister has branded an #eco-tax to be introduced by the #BalearicIslands as ‘crazy’ and likened it to Germany placing a tax on its car-making industry. 

Jose Manuel Soria, minister of industry, energy and tourism, criticized the €1/€2-a-night tax, due to be levied on each visitor to the Balearic Islands from next year. 

‘I think it doesn’t make sense, it’s crazy. It would be the same thing if Germany, which has a strong automobile industry, decided to allow a special tax on the manufacturing of cars.

‘The tourism sector in Spain has been a story of success for the past 25 years, because we have tourism professionals and companies that have done a really good job, but that doesn’t mean we have a guarantee that it will be like that in the future. Tourism is becoming one of the great drivers of economic recovery in Spain, so it’s wrong thinking to introduce more tax on that.’

Speaking at the World Travel Market in London, he added that British visitor numbers had sprung back up to approach pre-economic crisis levels, with the UK making up nearly a quarter of all visitors to Spain and her islands.

There were 15 million British visitors to Spain in 2014, up 4.7% compared with the previous year, which not only accounted for 23% of overall visitors to the Mediterranean destination but also for a €12.7 billion contribution to the economy.

That figure is set to rise even further this year with a total of 15.5 million UK visitors predicted.

Mr Soria attributed that to growing consumer confidence in the UK, a strong pound-to-euro exchange rate, an increase in airlift with 45 new routes from the UK to Spain introduced this year, and an improved passenger load factor of more than 90%.

‘British tourism has played a very key role in our tourism,’ he said. ‘It's the first and most important market for our country.’

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Balearics eco-tax faces challenge

UK TOURISM and travel bodies say they will fight plans to introduce an #eco-tax on visitors to Spain’s #BalearicIslands. Tourists staying at five-star hotels on the islands or on cruise ships moored in ports will be charged €2 (£1.44) a day in high season under new proposals.

A reduced levy would also apply to holidaymakers staying in hostels, campsites, holiday homes, and lower-grade hotels.

The proposal includes halving the tax in low season, and children under 14 would be exempt.

Cruise association CLIA UK & Ireland plans to meet with Balearic government officials to warn that some cruise lines could alter their itineraries and reduce their visits to the islands if the tax is introduced. A spokeswoman said: ‘This could have a negative impact on cruising’s economic contribution in this region.’

The Association of British Travel Agents will also use its influence to try to reverse the decision. Nikki White, head of destination and sustainability, said: ‘We will be writing this week to the Balearic government urging them to rethink their decision. We will also be seeking clarification of the amounts that will be charged, the mechanisms for collection, and the rationale behind the tax. Fifteen years ago a similar tax was introduced which had the unintended consequence of drastically reducing visitor numbers to the islands.”

Mr Biel Barcelo, the islands’ vice-president and tourism minister, said the revenues would help ‘maintain and improve the quality of tourism services in the islands’.

The Balearic government is expected to make a decision about the proposed tax in the second quarter of 2016.

Go Holiday editor David Kernek comments: £1.44 (at current exchange rates) a day for an eco-tax or, let’s call it what it really is, a tourism tax. It isn’t far off what a tourist would tip a waiter in an average café or bar, and it’s certainly less than what holidaymakers with more money than sense spend when buying tacky souvenirs in gift shops and markets. Is it really asking too much of tourists? Is it really going to make sun-starved northern Europeans think twice about choosing Majorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera for a holiday? I don’t think so.

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9662258@N02/2167715010">Vietnam - Hanoi</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">(license)

Tourist ‘tax’ for Malta hotel guests

GUESTS at hotels in Malta and Gozo will have to pay what is described as an ‘environmental contribution’ of 50c (£0.36) per head per day up to a maximum of €5 (£3.66) from next April. 

Visitors under 18, and language students, will be exempt.

The revenue generated by the levy – a total of €6 million (£4.39 million) – will be supplemented by the National Development Fund and the money will be used by a foundation which will be set up with the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association for the maintenance of tourist zones.

#Malta and #Gozo residents will also have to pay the levy when staying at a hotel.

Meanwhile, tourism police will undergo a course at the Institute of Tourism Studies aimed at helping foreign visitors during their stay in a more effective manner. Additional police officers will be assigned duties in tourist areas.

Go Holiday editor David Kernek comments: It’s impossible to argue against charges like this, especially as people who’ve paid out for a holiday in Malta will hardly have trouble finding an extra 36p a day. What’s profoundly annoying, though, is the refusal of politicians and bureaucrats to call a spade a spade: this ‘environment contribution’ is in plain Anglo-Saxon a tourist tax.

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Picture Credit: Stjulians-hilton-yachts-cannon by Thyes - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons