The Vila Real de Santo António City Council decided to institute a Tourist Tax, «taking into account the need to share responsibilities in terms of tourism promotion and to find solutions for the financial balance of the equipment that has contributed the most to the tourist occupation of VRSA, especially in low season”, the Sports Complex.
Thus, from the end of the summer onwards, all accommodation units in the municipality will be obliged to bill the customer for an additional item, exempt from VAT, and designated as the Vila Real de Santo António Tourist Tax.
The contribution will have an average value of one euro/bed, but will exempt children up to 10 years of age.
«Given that the dynamism of the tourist activity is vital for the economy of VRSA and that the fixing of the tourist tax does not intend, in any way, to reduce the influx of tourists, the municipality will introduce an incentive factor in the calculation of the final amount to be charged. which aims to reduce its value, ensuring that the local hotel sector remains competitive with its competitors», explains the municipality.
For this reason, part of the amount charged will not only be used to finance promotional actions in traditional markets, but also to contribute to the prospecting of new international markets.
«For many years, the municipality has made multiple efforts to attract visitors and tourists, without burdening customers or hoteliers. Given the current economic context, it is time to share responsibilities, with the payment of a symbolic amount implemented, as, in fact, already happens in several European cities», notes the mayor Luís Gomes.
"In addition to continuing to provide a constant policy of events, essential for attracting visitors – and this summer's program is an example –, we will grant hoteliers a period of adaptation, ensuring that reservations already made will not have retroactive effects" , concludes the mayor.
In order to debate the proposal, the City Council will place the measures now defined in public discussion, gathering contributions from all interested parties.
To explain the creation of this rate, the Council says that, «aware of the role of the Vila Real de Santo António Sports Complex in attracting tourist overnight stays and its contribution to the municipality's excellent levels of hotel occupancy, the Vila Reale municipality invests around three million euros annually in the maintenance of its sports infrastructures».
These levels of investment – supported “in full” by the municipality– have provided “a constant growth both in the number of athletes who choose the destination, and in the number of sporting stages and key events developed”.
Examples of this are the Mundialito de Futebol, the Copa Foot 21 or the European Champion Clubs' Cup in Athletics. It is estimated that, on average, each user of the Sports Complex spends a week in the municipality of Vila Real de Santo António.
In addition to investing in this key equipment, the municipality has, over the past seven years, «supported, with its own funds, a constant and regular program of events, which has contributed to the loyalty of visitors and to combat seasonality» .
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