Philippines to Start Tax Refunds for Tourists
Skift Take
- Singapore hotels’ average room rate was up 27.7% in December 2022 from a year ago to a new 14 year high of S$285.84.
- Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos has approved a value-added tax refund program for foreign tourists by 2024 to attract more visitors.
- The first Hilton hotel in Japan’s Hokuriku region has opened. The DoubleTree by Hilton Toyama is located within a three-minute walk of Toyama Station.
Singapore hotels’ average room rate was up 27.7% in December 2022 from a year ago to a new 14 year high of S$285.84. Tourist arrivals rose to 931,337, the highest since the onset of the pandemic.
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos has approved a value-added tax refund program for foreign tourists by 2024 to attract more visitors. The government collects a 12% VAT on goods consumed within the country. The plan is to allow foreigners to get a VAT refund on items they are taking out of the country, similar to what other countries offer. This was one of the proposals submitted to Marcos by a private sector advisory council tasked to help boost the tourism industry. Marcos also has approved the launch of an online visa this year for Chinese, Indian, South Korean and Japanese tourists. For 2022, the Philippines recorded 2.65 million international visitors who brought in an estimated US$3.68 billion in revenue. That was above its 1.7 million touri
