Find a way to make levy pay

A LEVY paid by people visiting Cairns to market the region has been talked about on and off for at least the past 10 years, probably longer.

There is growing momentum for the levy but it’s not easy to implement as it involves an amendment to the Local Government Act by the State Government.

Tourists and visitors usually expect to pay some taxes when they visit a destination, whether it be a reef tax, an environmental levy, a carbon or a bed tax.

It’s never a big amount and pales into insignificance when it is considered what they pay in airfares, accommodation, food, booze and tours. Most don’t even know they have or are paying a tourism tax.

I’m still trying to work out what I paid in Boracay in the Philippines.

I know I did pay an environmental levy to ensure the beaches were kept in top condition plus another tax or two. It didn’t worry me.

Six years ago then Cairns Airport chief executive and Tourism Tropical North Queensland chairman Stephen Gregg called for a tourism levy but he was rebuffed by former mayor Val Schier who said the city couldn’t afford it.

She said it should have been introduced when the economy was doing well in the early 2000s.

It would be revenue collected by accommodation houses after their guests were charged a small fee.

One suggestion is $1 each per night, which would reap about $18 million a year.

The Gold Coast charges a tourism levy on businesses but the Cairns model would be paid by visitors.

It really needs to be seriously considered. Nick Dalton Deputy editor