RM10 tourism tax to be maintained

Reports by HEMANANTHANI SIVANANDAM, MARTIN CARVALHO and LOSHANA K. SHAGAR

THE flat rate of RM10 per room per night on foreign tourists will be maintained, says Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Mohamaddin Ketapi.

“Under the new government, the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry has reviewed implementation of the tourism tax.

“From the review, the implementation of the tax by countries such as the United States, the Netherlands, Italy, Singapore and Thailand, proved that the tax has brought positive growth to the tourism sector in the long term,” he said in a written reply to Datuk Danyal Balagopal Abdullah (PH-Port Dickson).

Mohamaddin noted that Japan and Saudi Arabia had recently implemented the tourism tax.

He said the tax is expected to bring positive impact to the tourism industry through the financing of infrastructure, arts and culture. It is only applicable to foreign tourists.