The Gold Coast is among a number of Queensland councils pushing for the introduction of a levy on tourists.
Mayor Tom Tate, Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner, Cairns Mayor Amy Eden and Whitsundays Mayor Ry Williams have written to the Premier pushing their case for a ‘bed tax.’
They argue the tax would help pay for tourism infrastructure with costs rising as visitor numbers boom.
“Tourism is part of Queensland’s DNA. It fuels our local economies, sustains thousands of jobs and drives investment right across the state,” the mayors said.
“However, as visitation grows so too does the cost of maintaining the infrastructure, the natural assets, services and experiences that make our destinations world-class.”
Mayor Tate has flagged a levy of between 3 and 5 per cent which would be added to the cost of hotel rooms and Airbnbs.
“You go to Vegas, Singapore, Dubai, you get additional room tax for that. We raise funds to quarantine to build tourism infrastructure for the city.
I’ll been talking to all the way up to Cairns mayor and we’re putting a case together to the state government to look atwhich city would want to opt in or opt out and give us the extra revenue raised
“They’re (the tourists) here and they’re using our infrastructure so I think they might as well contribute to that.”
Any levy would require a change to legislation, something the state government has previously ruled out.
However the Tourism Minister says the request is being considered as part of a long-term tourism plan.
