Darjeeling to reimpose tourist tax after more than a decade
The tourist tax was stopped by the Darjeeling Municipality more than a decade ago as the process was cumbersome and most hotels did not cooperate.
The Darjeeling civic body has decided to reintroduce tourist tax of ₹20 per tourist coming to visit the ‘Queen of Hills’ in north Bengal after a gap of more than a decade.
“The collection of tourist tax would start soon. A private firm has already been issued the order to collect the tax,” said Dipendra Thakuri, chairman of Darjeeling Municipality.
It is one of the most sought-after hill destinations in India offering breath-taking views of Mt Khangchendzonga, the third highest mountain in the world. More than a million tourists visit Darjeeling every year. There are around 400 hotels in the hill station.
“Hotels would collect tourist tax of ₹20 per tourist irrespective of the duration of stay. The private company, which would be collecting the tax from hotels, would pay ₹28.25 lakh per year to the municipality. This amount is far less than the total amount of the tax that would otherwise be collected from the tourists arriving in Darjeeling,” said Ritesh Portel the former chairman of the Municipality and the leader of opposition Hamro Party.
The decision, however, met with criticism from opposition parties, which have appealed the Bharatiya Gorkha Prajatantrik Morcha (BGPM)-led municipality, to re-consider the decision.
The decision to collect ₹20 per tourist above five years of age from the hotels they would be staying in, would have a dampening effect on the tourism industry and the civic body would also lose revenue, opposition parties said.
“Tourists arriving in Darjeeling are already over-burdened as they have to pay tax while entering multiple tourist locations like the Tiger Hill, which is famous for sunrise,” said Bharat Tiruwa, general secretary of the Gorkha Ekta Chalak Sangathan.
This is, however, not the first time Darjeeling Municipality has decided to impose levy tourist tax. It started in 2008. The levy per tourist was ₹3 in 2011 and it was raised to ₹10 per tourist in 2012. Thereafter it was stopped as the process was cumbersome and most hotels did not cooperate.
The hoteliers suggest that the municipality can collect tourist levy at entry points, rather than outsourcing the task to a private company which would definitely check the list at odd times of the tourists arriving in hotels. This would lead to inconvenience to both the hoteliers and tourists, said a hotel owner.
Justifying the decision, Thakuri said “Collecting tourist tax at entry points would further lead to traffic jams.” Traffic jams are regular occurrences in Darjeeling particularly during tourist season.
Almost two lakh tourists enter Darjeeling town every year, while many tourists visiting other destinations in the district to avoid the congested town.
Portel also condemned the municipality’s statement that the decision to collect tourist levy was taken in the board of councillors. “The issue was not discussed in any board meeting.”
