Kyoto mooting room tax
Kyoto will start imposing a bed tax from next year and will be the first in Japan to include private lodging businesses under new proposals.
The lodging tax is expected to roll out next October for all hotels, inns, guest houses and private accommodation providers.
The rate charged s dependent on the room rate with a basic 200 yen payable for nightly stays in rooms with rates less than 20,000 yen, to up to 1,000 yen for accommodation costing more than 50,000 yen.
Tokyo and Osaka Prefectures also charge a room tax but Kyoto is the first to target private rentals too.
The city has encountered big problems with the sheer scale of private unregistered accommodation providers.
It is estimated more than one million visitors a year stay in unregistered vacation rentals and private homes, in part due to surging tourism far outweighing hotel supply.
Kyoto officials expect to raise about 4.5 billion yen from the tax which will go toward tourism promotion efforts.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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