Tourism Board Uses
Visitor Tax To Attract More Tourists
The Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT)
- Costa Rica's Tourism Board - said it will
be spending up to us$20 million dollars this
year to attract more visitors, with the
publicity campaign to be financed by the tax
on tickets paid by visitors coming to Costa
Rica.
Last July, a tax of us$15 is being added to
every ticket issued by the airlines for
travel to Costa Rica. The ticket tax
replaced the 3% hotel tax, in addition to
the 13% sales that, that was applied only to
those visitors who stayed in a hotel.
The ICT says that the ticket tax revenue
between July and December last year will be
used to pay for newspaper, television and
internet ads to attract tourists from
different countries, according to Allan
Flores, the ministero de Turismo.
The majority of visitors to Costa Rica come
from North America and Europe.
The objective of the ICT is to attract more
visitors from South America and Central
America, in addition to promoting tourism
within the country, informed minister
Flores.
"The tax allows us to have a surplus, which
won't last forever", said Flores.
The minister's comments comes from a ruling
by the Autoridad Presupuestaria del
Ministerio de Hacienda which authorized that
between 2206 and 2009, the ICT to use any
surplus funds for advertising.
And as such the advertising expenditure by
the ICT went from us$7 million in 2007 to
us$20 million last year.
The us$15 tax on all airline tickets to
Costa Rica is authorized by the "Ley de
Fortalecimiento de la Industria Turística",
a law that fortifies the tourism industry in
the country, placing the burden on all
airlines with flights to Costa Rica to pass
on the cost to the consumer.
The change came after it was noted that many
a visitor to Costa Rica were not staying at
hotels, but in private homes like condo
rentals, beach houses and properties they
had purchased in Costa Rica and not subject
to the 3% hotel tax, which only brought in
an average of us$10 million dollars annually
in revenue to the ICT.
The change meant that every person coming to
Costa Rica contributed to the country's
tourism industry and not only those staying
in hotels.
Flores wasn't specific on the advertising
campaign or the targeted markets, only
saying that it will be diversified.
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