Zanzibar plans to charge hotels $5 for every occupied room each night, attracting criticism from sector players.
This proposal is contained in the 2023/24 budget statement, which was read by Finance Minister Saada Mkuya Salum.
The government says the new levy will neither affect the hotel industry nor reduce tourist visits into the country as feared by managers in the hospitality sector.
“Hoteliers will have to see how to implement this,” Salum told Tanzania’s The Citizen newspaper.
Awaiting parliament's approval
Zanzibar was previously charging hotels $1 for every room occupied at night. The fee, which had been in existence for eight years, was being paid to the government by all hotels in the region.
The proposal will be debated in parliament before it is adopted into law.
Rahim Bhaloo, the chairperson of the Zanzibar Association for Tourism Investors (ZATI), says the new proposal has caught him by surprise. He has, consequently, asked the government to delay implementation of the new levy, should parliament approve it.
Zanzibar has a House of Representatives that legislates on behalf of citizens of the semi-autonomous island in Tanzania.
