Japan Considers Lodging Tax to Address Tourism Surge
Skift Take
In Japan, local governments are considering and implementing lodging taxes to manage overtourism, despite opposition from hotel businesses fearing loss of guests to neighboring areas.
In Japan, local governments are considering charging tourists a lodging tax to help with overtourism. The number of foreign visitors to Japan continues to surge, with 12 municipalities already introducing a lodging tax while more than 40 others are considering it to help raise money for better tourism infrastructure. The lodging tax is a local tax levied on hotel guests, classified as a special purpose tax. The first one was applied by the Tokyo metropolitan government in 2022 and 12 more have now introduced similar taxes. Visitors to Japan in the first half of 2024 reached a record 17.77 million. This is not widely accepted. In Miyagi Prefecture, 18 groups of lodging businesses convened on July 8 to oppose the tax, submitting it in writing to the Miyagi prefectural government. That government wants a flat 300 yen lodging fee throughout the prefecture. The hotel businesses are afraid the tax will drive hotel guests to neighboring prefectures.
Mandarin Oriental Hotel G
