Georgia proposes to introduce tourist tax

The Institute for Tourism Development in Georgia proposed to charge tourists a tax for staying in hotels.

The Institute wants to collect 1 lari ($0.39) per person per day for hotel accommodation, Gazeta.ru reports.

On the initiative, the collected funds should be transferred to the city budget for its improvement and landscaping.

The Georgian Vestnik Telegram channel noted that with such a collection, the treasury of Batumi could be replenished by 4-6 million lari ($1.5 - $2.3 million) in 2023 alone. According to their forecasts, taxes may be introduced in one or two years.

The Tourism Development Institute was founded in 2017. It was created for the purpose of tourism business planning and development, market research, marketing and brand strategy, hospitality service analysis and business monitoring.