by Brian Major
Last updated: 3:15 PM ET, Mon December 30, 2019
Saint Lucia visitors will pay a bit more for their stays beginning April 1, 2020, following the St. Lucia Hotel and Tourism Association (SLHTA)'s announcement of a head tax on hotel and resort guests.
The government-approved tax will charge travelers age 16 and above three dollars per night, per guest at check-in for hotels with an average daily rate (ADR) below $120. A tax of six dollars per guest, per night, will be charged to guests at hotels with ADR above $120 per night.
SLHTA officials said the taxes will be applied to "all non-sharing platform accommodation providers" while "the rate of value-added tax (VAT) on hotel accommodation providers will be lowered from 10 to seven percent."
"This model is designed to ease the impact of the tax on existing contract arrangements, ensure implementation as of 1 April 2020 and supplement financial resources for the Tourism Authority for the next financial year," SLTHA officials said in a statement.
The officials will conduct "further discussions with the sector on the most effective modalities through which accommodation providers will collect and remit the fee to the Tourism Authority, to ensure high compliance levels, amongst other aspects related to implementation of the fee."
The Caribbean destination is winding up what tourism officials describe as a potential record year for visitor arrivals. "Saint Lucia looks well poised to meet and surpass the record 1.2 million visitors it welcomed in 2018," said Beverly Nicholson-Doty, the Saint Lucia Tourism Authority's CEO.
Saint Lucia recorded increased visitor arrivals from its top source markets including Canada, the United States and Germany, said Nicholson-Doty. Through mid-2019, Canadian arrivals increased by 20 percent, U.S. arrivals increased by 17 percent and visitors from Germany grew by 31 percent.
"The growth can be attributed to multiple factors, among them the increased airlift from the U.S., which can be directly attributed to a second daily flight by American Airlines out of Miami," said Nicholson-Doty. "JetBlue from JFK and Boston also saw an increase with additional seats added to the route[s]."
Airlift out of Canada also increased, with an additional 256 seats from West Jet and Air Canada, she said.
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