Shopping might be duty-free at Langkawi, but you’ll have to pay a bit more for a hotel stay.
The Langkawi Municipal Council City will be charging a tourism levy ranging from RM1 to RM9 on tourists for each day of their stay on the island, stated Kedah Tourism Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Rawi Abdul Hamid in a report by Bernama.
The levy, which will be put in effect on 1st July, will be charged according to the class of accommodations as follows:
- 1-star and 2-star hotel/accommodation – RM1 per room per night.
- 3-star and 4-star hotel/accommodation – RM3 per room per night.
- 5-star hotel/accommodation – RM5 per room per night.
- 6-star hotel/accommodation – RM7 per room per night.
- 7-star hotel/accommodation – RM9 per room per night.
He also stated that the amount of the levy is at a minimum, and believes that tourists will be able to afford it. The chairman also explained that the tax will be used for tourism-based activities, in order to ease the financial dependence of Kedah on the federal government.
He said:
If we can collect a satisfactory amount of levy, we can implement more tourism-related programmes for the benefit of the tourists.
The state assemblyman for Ayer Hangat expressed that similar levies have been put in place in Melaka, Penang, and Kuala Lumpur to promote the tourism industry. He also said that the levy could be imposed in other parts of Kedah in the future, depending on the response.
Source: Bernama.
