Japan Rolls Out New Departure Tax Opposed by Airlines
Skift Take
No destination gets away uncriticized for imposing a tax on tourists. Japan is no exception, especially since the destination is loved by millions of tourists and it isn’t clear-cut why they are being taxed. But it's unlikely tourists will say sayonara to Japan, say operators.
Japan went ahead and implemented a departure tax of $9 (¥1,000) on Monday despite the International Air Transport Association strongly opposing the move last year when the planned levy was announced.
"We are disappointed that the Japanese government decided to proceed with the tourism tax which took effect this month,” the association's spokesperson Albert Tjoeng told Skift.
Departure taxes are not new, but increasingly more governments seem to want to impose them on tourists, or to hike existing fees. Malaysia, for example, is also considering imposing a levy on all outbound air passengers starting June 1.
Bodies such as the International Air Transport Association, the global trade group for aviation, are up-in-arms over the principles of such a tax and how it benefits the industry.
“We recognize that legislation [in Japan] was also passed to limit the use of the levy to boost tourism," said Tjoeng. "In this respect, we urge the Japanese government to take steps to ensure that the revenue from the departure tax is reinvested in the aviation industry, specifically aviation secur
