Malaysia's Langkawi Island To Impose Tourism Promotion Levy Beginning July 1

By Hamdan Ismail KUAH (Langkawi, Kedah), June 20 (Bernama) -- Beginning July 1, the Langkawi Municipal Council City of Tourism is to impose a levy of between US$0.24 (RM1) and US$2.20 (RM9) on tourists for every day of stay on the resort island in Malaysia's northern state, Kedah. Kedah Tourism Committee chairman Mohd Rawi Abdul Hamid said the quantum of the Langkawi Tourism Promotion Levy would depend on the class of accommodation. Tourists staying in one-star or two-star hotels would be charged US$0.24 (RM1) per room per night; three-star or four-star accommodation, US$0.73 (RM3); five-star accommodation, US$1.22 (RM5); six-star accommodation, US$1.72 (RM7); and seven-star accommodation, US$2.20 (RM9), he told Bernama. Mohd Rawi spoke to Bernama on Sunday said, the levy was not something new because similar charges had been imposed in states of Melaka, Penang and Kuala Lumpur to promote the tourism industry. Mohd Rawi said the amount of levy was minimal and the tourists coming to Langkawi could afford it. He said Kedah depended a great deal on federal government allocations to promote tourism and the levy would help ease the financial dependence a little. "If we can collect a satisfactory amount of levy, we can implement more tourism-related programmes for the benefit of the tourists," he said. He said the levy could be eventually extended to other places in Kedah. --BERNAMA