Will there be a tourist tax in Antalya?
Antalya authorities are discussing the introduction of a tourist tax. According to the mayor of Antalya, the resort should introduce a fee, as is customary in other popular destinations.
Antalya Mayor Muhittin Becek said the resort, which receives 14-15 million tourists a year, "lacks municipal revenues to maintain the city's infrastructure."
According to him, Antalya receives 68% of the foreign tourist flow of the country, the first of the Turkish cities can go to such an experiment.
To implement the tax, the Ministry of Tourism Turkey The relevant law must be passed. According to the mayor, this document will be lobbyed by the Antalya Tourist Union, which unites the resorts of the coast.
The Chairman of the city Council for tourism Recep Yavuz is sure that for the year you can earn 150-200 million euros. Antalya receives 5 million people in the summer, which increases the pressure on garbage collection, sewerage, etc. And there is no need to worry too much about the reaction of tourists, because holidaymakers in Turkey choose it not because of the lack of tax, but because they get an excellent product at an attractive price.
The expert proposed a tax of 1.5 euros per tourist per night, excluding children from the list of taxpayers. 13 million tourists come to Antalya and almost all stay in the hotel. A third of them are children, and 8.5 million tourists remain in the tax base. With a tax of 1.5 euros, the city can expect from 150 to 200 million euros of additional revenue annually.
Representatives of Turkish host companies believe that the initiative of the mayor of Antalya is “premature”. In the conditions of rising prices for holidays in Turkey, such statements should be made with “great caution” in order not to scare off tourists.
According to experts, if the governor of the province of Antalya, rather than the mayor, came out with the initiative, they would listen to his words with attention.
The idea of a tax on tourists in Antalya was discussed before, but the amounts were more modest: 0.5-1 dollars per tourist. The increase in the amount is associated with the creation of the “Fund for the Promotion of Turkish Tourism”, in which hoteliers deduct a percentage.
It is possible that the initiative of the mayor is lobbying efforts of hoteliers who want to shift the increased financial burden on the pocket of tourists.
Host companies in Turkey advise Russians not to worry. There will be no tourist tax in 2019. If early booking 2020 is not satisfactory, the fee will be forgotten.
Source: atorus