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LUSAKA, March 22 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian government has started the implementation of a tourism levy as part of efforts to boost revenue for the development of the tourism industry, a senior official said on Wednesday.
The tourism levy is a tourist tax to be charged at 1.5 percent from persons who consume applicable tourism services in designated tourism facilities in the country.
Minister of Tourism and Arts Charles Banda, who launched the levy on state television, said the imposition of the tourism levy will only be on accommodation establishments and events facilities although this will be subject for review in future.
The levy, which came into effect on March 1, 2017, follows years of extensive consultations with stakeholders to arrive at a lasting solution to the challenges experienced in the sector.
"The tourism levy is an intervention created to respond to the need to augment the resources provided by the government treasury for the development of the tourism sector," he said.
According to him, it was acknowledged that development of tourism required much more resources than were being provided for by government alone, hence the need to establish collaborative efforts between the public and private sector to enhance support for the tourism development.
Funds raised from the tourism levy will be channeled to the Tourism Development Fund, a special fund meant for the development of the tourism sector in the country.
It will be channeled to address funding inadequacies in various areas of the tourism sector such as skills development and enhancement, high cost of marketing and promotion and diversification of the tourism product, among others. Enditem
