Extend tourism relief measures to next year

GOVERNMENT should extend all the relief measures provided to the tourism sector this year into the 2023 national budget meant to revive the industry which is still recovering from the effects of Covid-19.

Extending these measures will support the industry in its gradual recovery, this is according to the Livingstone Tourism Association (LTA) in its submission for the 2023 national budget in Lusaka recently.

The submission was made by LTA Board Chairman, Hilary Kashempa.

Mr Kashempa in the submission said: “We propose the extension of all 2021, 2022 measures. The Tourism recovery will still take long a time to recover and in order to appreciate the benefits of the measures there is need for extension.”

Some of the measures the association is requesting to be extended include reducing corporate income tax rate to 15 percent from 35 percent on income earned by hostels and lodges on accommodation and food services.

Others are suspension of import duty on safari game viewing motor vehicles, tourist busses and coaches, suspension of license of renewal fees paid by hotels and lodges as well as suspension of retention fees paid by tourism enterprises and the registration fees for hotel managers.

All these measures were introduced in 2020 and extended in the 2021 national budget.

Mr Kashempa said these measures should be extended side by side with halting to annualised increases from Government departments

This, he explained, was to give breathing space for tourism to come to its full recovery.

Mr Kashempa also proposed the removal of Value Added Tax ( VAT) or a very significant reduction of below eight percent.

According to Mr Kashempa, this meant prices for tourism activities would reduce and attract more numbers to the destinations in Zambia.

Meanwhile, Mr Kashempa proposed zero rating or total removal of VISA fees on some source markets.