Kyoto OKs hiking city lodging tax by up to ¥10,000 per night

How about the local residents, or the permanent residents? Why do they have to suffer?

Good. Yes its a blunt tool which impacts domestic tourism as well, but this is largely being driven by international tourists.

Maybe this will be another thing to disuade the inbound tourism obsession with Tokyo/Osaka/Kyoto/Hiroshima and get out to visit other areas.

This is a money grab, pure and simple. Disaster prevention measures? Sure, right. I want Kyoto to provide a clear and detailed set of documents on how all of this money is being used. But that will never happen.

Maybe this will be another thing to disuade the inbound tourism obsession with Tokyo/Osaka/Kyoto/Hiroshima and get out to visit other areas.

As long as the yen is weak not a chance.

Disgusting behavior again. This will dissuade nobody from overseas, it will only impact upon people who live here.

… with a maximum rate of 10,000 yen for stays costing 100,000 yen or more per person per night.

There are not many accommodations in Kyoto charging more than Y100,000 person/night (or more commonly Y200,000 couple/night), so the higher tax of 10,000 yen would not apply to many visitors.

The other tax rate increases contained in this revised ordinance will result in the bulk of the increased lodging tax revenue.

This is a good way to soak visiting Nintendo global staff when they are sent to Kyoto for a meeting.

Yet another reason to stay away from Kyoto.

Why don't they build more hotels and provide more buses to make more money and capitalize on all this increased tourism instead?

I think most tourists will pay 400-1000yen. It is not so terrible. Other countries have simliar system.

Whole tax plan, keep Japanese from staying overnight in Kyoto while maximizing beds for tourists. But Nara will benefit from more Japanese tourists spending the night!

I'll take "Places I Will Not Visit" for 200, Alex.

I’ll buy a tent and sleep in the park somewhere, not the first time.

Better to sleep out in the night sky

10,000 yen for 100,000 yen or more.

and the complaints roll in... entitled much?

The description seems to emphasize the highest tax rate, which very few people will pay.

If you stay at "Hotel el Posho" for 98,000 a night for a twin room, the tax is 2000 yen total. Presumably you are already paying 9800 in consumption tax. So this is a lot of fuss about not very much.

As others have pointed out, other temples, shrines, and maple trees are available.

So, they are trying to up the cost high enough to get rid of a good amount of tourists AND recoup the cost from them not coming from those that do.

@BarfoCrapa@WA4TKG Excellent! Both of my thoughts exactly. Had more than my fill of Kyoto back in the early 2000s.

If your staying in an average business hotel or 2 star joint your not going to notice an extra few hundred yen tacked on. Similarly if your paying 100,000 a night for a place or more, 10,000 is likely equally ignorable

DanteKH

How about the local residents, or the permanent residents? Why do they have to suffer?

Sorry if I misunderstand you, but They won't suffer anything by this change.

5.2 billion yen in fiscal 2023.

seems like A LOT of Y1000 s..... people/nights in other words. can that be true?

and anyway, why figures from the year before last?

I was reading a piece about Barcelona’s response to overtourism . 25% of their accommodation tax goes towards building affordable housing for the locals, as it’s the Airbnb bandwagon pushing up rentals which is their biggest grievance (as opposed to the number of tourists per se). Another part of the tax is being spent on monitoring pedestrian traffic patterns and adjusting visitor flow accordingly. The authorities are also reducing maritime access and moving bus parks much further away from the most crowded areas.