Cut in hotel tax a boost for UAE tourism industry

Restaurants in Abu Dhabi and Dubai will be bolstered by the recent drop in municipality fees.

That is the view of Jennifer Pettinger-Haines, a founding member of the Global Restaurant Investment Forum, an international conference that brings together some of the leading investors from the world of restaurants.

The reduction in municipality fees comes as Dubai and Abu Dhabi try to market themselves as year-round holiday destinations, instead of their more traditional standing as winter sun destinations.

Ms Pettinger-Haines, who is also a member of the Dubai Restaurant Industry think tank, was speaking after the municipality tax cuts were announced last week.

“The recent announcement that municipality fees on sales at hotel facilities are going to be cut from 10 per cent to 7 per cent is great news for the industry, it was made all the better when we heard that Abu Dhabi was also taking measures to reduce tourism fees from 6 per cent to 3.5 per cent and municipality fees to 2 per cent,” she said.

“These are very positive and significant steps in support of the UAE’s hospitality industry and come at a challenging time for many operators, especially as we head into the summer.”

Last week, it was announced that the 6 per cent tourism fee applied to hotel rooms and outlets had been reduced to 3.5 per cent, the municipality fee was reduced from 4 per cent to 2 per cent, and the per room, per night hotel fee had dropped from Dh15 to Dh10.

That followed another announcement in Dubai that cut the municipality fee on sales at hotel facilities – which include the cost of room bookings – to 7 per cent from 10 per cent.

Last week, The National reported how Dubai’s tourism industry is working to make the emirate a more attractive package to prevent losing ground to destinations like Europe during the hotter summer months.

Grif 2018 was held in Dubai, while the event next year will be hosted by Amsterdam.