Japan: Departure tax for all takes effect in bid to fund tourism
Japan began levying a 1,000 yen (US$9.24) departure tax on Monday, payable by anyone leaving the country by aircraft or ship, in a measure aimed at raising funds to further boost tourism. The International Tourist Tax covers everyone regardless of nationality, from businesspeople to holidaymakers older than two years of age. It will be tacked on to the price of an airline ticket, though those bought and issued before Monday are exempt. Japan’s government estimates that it will make an additional 50b yen (US$462m) from the tax, which it wants to use to improve tourism infrastructure by making airport immigration processes faster and encouraging visitors to explore areas beyond traditionally popular destinations such as Tokyo and Kyoto, for example. Japan has been aggressively courting international tourists as a new pillar of economic growth – aiming to boost visitor figures to 40m by 2020, when Tokyo hosts the Olympic Games. A record number of foreigners – more than 30 million – are estimated to have visited in 2018.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2019-01-08/general/japan-departure-tax-for-all-takes-effect-in-bid-to-fund-tourism
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Japan: Departure tax for all takes effect in bid to fund tourism
Japan began levying a 1,000 yen (US$9.24) departure tax on Monday, payable by anyone leaving the country by aircraft or ship, in a measure aimed at raising funds to further boost tourism. The International Tourist Tax covers everyone regardless of nationality, from businesspeople to holidaymakers older than two years of age. It will be tacked on to the price of an airline ticket, though those bought and issued before Monday are exempt. Japan’s government estimates that it will make an additional 50b yen (US$462m) from the tax, which it wants to use to improve tourism infrastructure by making airport immigration processes faster and encouraging visitors to explore areas beyond traditionally popular destinations such as Tokyo and Kyoto, for example. Japan has been aggressively courting international tourists as a new pillar of economic growth – aiming to boost visitor figures to 40m by 2020, when Tokyo hosts the Olympic Games. A record number of foreigners – more than 30 million – are estimated to have visited in 2018.<br/>
