Don't kill the tourism goose

John Issa, Contributor

I felt obligated to give my views on the disastrous path we appear to be taking to seriously damage the tourism industry.

We have been piling tax upon tax on our visitors for giving them the privilege of spending their hard-earned money in Jamaica. In addition to increasing the GCT on their hotel stays to ten per cent, every tourist has to pay a J$1,800 departure tax and US$10 to the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) on arrival. And now the board of the Tourism Enhancement Fund wants to raise this head tax to US$20 per person.

That would mean that the visitor who arrives by air would pay over US$40 for the privilege of arriving and departing.

While the TEF wants to double the head tax for the landed tourist, they have failed to collect the US$2 head tax due from cruise passengers since the inception of the tax in May 2005.

Up to end of 2008, US$8.5 million was due on this tax from cruise passengers, and my estimate to the end of 2010 is an additional US$4 million will be due; bringing the total to over US$12 million. Not one cent of this has been collected.

What audacity

While the TEF has not collected this amount, the TEF board has the audacity to propose the additional head tax on the stopover tourist.

The Government has also recently substantially increased the tax on one of the tourism industry's raw materials, liquor.

This comes on top of the increase in the GCT, increases in the cost of electricity, increases in the cost of water and the extremely high cost of security, brought about the failure of governments to provide adequate security in the country.

Let us remember what happened to our bauxite and alumina industry after massive increases were levied on that industry. We have killed that proverbial golden goose.

Let us not kill the tourism golden goose.

John Issa is chairman of the SuperClubs Breezes Resorts.