Hospitality professionals are protesting against the announced sharp increase in the tourist tax on hotel nights in the Ile-de-France to finance public transport, which, in their opinion, will penalize their competitiveness. “With a 200% increase in the tourist tax planned for 2024, Paris and the Ile-de-France region have already won the gold medal in tax matters!” even before the opening of the Olympic Games, write the Union of Hotel Industries and Trades (Umih) and the National Group of Hotel Chains (GNC), in a press release published on Friday.
They refer to a clause in the agreement signed on Tuesday between the president of Ile-de-France Mobilités (IDFM), Valérie Pécresse, and the Minister of Transport, Clément Beaune, which provides for “the creation, on January 1, 2024, of “an additional tax to the tourist tax (…) collected in the Ile-de-France region and assigned to Ile-de-France Mobilités, with a maximum rate of 200%”, that is, a possible – and probable – triple.
“Fiscal crush”
The tourist tax in Paris currently varies between 0.25 euros for modest campsites and 5 euros for palaces, per night and per person. “Taken without consulting hospitality representatives, this measure would permanently penalize the destination’s competitiveness in business and leisure tourism in the main tourist region of France,” they add. The president of the French hotel industry, Umih Véronique Siegel, speaks of a “tax overload that will have a lasting impact on the competitiveness of our companies.” “There are other avenues of financing, for example through the use of empty homes and offices,” suggest Umih and the GNC.
“The increase in transport payments further increases labor costs, while we already dedicate more than 40% of turnover to payrolls in hotels, cafes and restaurants,” add its presidents at national and Ile-de-France level, Didier Chenet and Pascal Mouset.
Source: BFM TV
