Travel

More Japan tourist hot-spots imposing hotel taxes to fund promotions

TOKYO, Jul 24 (Kyodo) - The practice of imposing municipal accommodation taxes on hotel guests has been spreading across Japan as popular tourist areas look to generate funds to use in promoting themselves to travelers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tokyo is considering increasing its tax for the first time since it became the first area in the country in 2002 to implement the system.

Currently, hotels in the capital charge 100 yen ($0.70) per person per night for stays costing between 10,000 yen and 15,000 yen and 200 yen per night for rooms over 15,000 yen. The collected tax goes toward tourism-related costs, including for maintaining free public Wi-Fi and operating tourism information centers. ...continue reading

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