LANGKAWI, 15 July 2016: Langkawi Municipal Council’s tourism department has introduced a tourism promotion levy of between RM1 and RM9 on tourists for every day of their stay.
The fee is charged according to the standard of accommodation. Tourists staying in one-star or two-star hotels are charged RM1 per room per night; three-star or four-star accommodation, RM3; five-star, RM5; six-star, RM7; and seven-star accommodation, RM9.
Revenue from the TPL will help fund improvements to infrastructure, public facilities and services that support tourism.
Up until now the council’s sole revenue comes from fees and taxes levied on the population estimated at no more than 110,000 people who have homes on the island.
However, the island attracts around 3 million tourists annually.
When announcing the introduction of the levy, last month, Kedah Tourism Committee chairman, Mohd Rawi Abdul Hamid, noted that similar levies are paid by visitors in Melaka, Penang and Kuala Lumpur, and that the levy would be used entirely to support the tourism industry in Langkawi.