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Tourist Tax Proposed, To Replace
Existing 3% Hotel Tax
The Instituto Costarricense de
Turismo (ICT) - tourism board -
is supporting a proposal by the
private sector to create a "Ley
General de Turimso" (general
tourism law), that, among other
things, will increase financial
resources to promote the country
to the world.
The Cámara Nacional de Turismo (Canatur)
proposed last week to eliminate
the 3% tax on hotel rooms and
that visitors pay us$15 on entry
to Costa Rica, if their stay is
for longer than 24 hours.
The proposal was presented at
the XIII Congreso Nacional de
Turismo organized by Canatur.
At the conference, Canatur
suggested that 5% of the ICT
budget be used to promote Costa
Rica to attract more visitor, as
well as provide trustworthy and
accessible statistics for the
tourism industry.
The Ministro de Turismo, Carlos
Ricardo Benavides, said the
proposal is an excellent one,
especially because the
administration and collection of
the tax on hotel rooms has been
difficult for the institution.
Benavides said that the us$15
tax will double the
institution's budget for
promoting the country. The ICT
now spends some us$5.7 million
annually.
Canatur also proposed creating
areas of priority for tourist
interest as well as establish
rights and obligations of the
tourists.
The proposed legislation will
also permit the creation of a
"national tourist registry",
where provides of services can
register with the idea of
providing tourists more
protection.
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