Tourism | Lawmaker says tax should aim at urban improvement

Lawmaker Agnes Lam has told the Times that any kind of so-called tourist tax, currently being studied by the government, ought to be used for urban improvement. She also said that the tax could be used to encourage tourists to visit Macau outside of major holidays, when the city’s infrastructure is put to the test.

In May, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) carried out an online survey asking Macau residents for their opinions on the tourist tax being proposed.

In its reply to the Times, MGTO said “currently, MGTO is in the data processing and analyzing stage, but preliminary results show that there are different opinions among residents, tourism operators and visitors, meaning that opinions are not one-sided.”

“The overall report is targeted to be finalized by the end of this year, and MGTO will then submit it to the SAR Government for further analysis and consideration.”

While the tourist tax issue remains unresolved, the MGTO head has repeatedly stated that the purpose of Macau’s tourist tax, if it is levied, will not be to reduce the number of visitors, but rather to use the tax for urban development and improvement.

Talking to the Times, lawmaker Lam said she hopes that the income from any kind of tourist tax can be used for noise-proof engineering projects or for helping seniors.

Previously, Lam proposed that the government could levy a specific tax during fixed periods each year to reduce the number of tourists coming to Macau on holidays as the Chinese New Year.

“My previous opinion [was] that tourists could be diverted in terms of timing, not by location. For example, by diverting tourists who come to Macau on key holidays to other times of the year,” said Lam.

In Lam’s opinion, increasing tourism costs on major holidays will encourage tourists to visit Macau at other times of the year.

“What the government is proposing is the most difficult kind of tax to collect,” said Lam.