VISITORS to Queensland could have their sleep disturbed if the State Government decides to introduce a five per cent “bed tax”.

And Douglas Shire Mayor Julia Leu said the Queensland tourism industry would be seriously penalised by a proposal to tax visitors five per cent per night on top of their bill at hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts, holiday parks, campsites and other accommodation.

The Queensland Tourism Industry Council is currently reviewing the proposal which would contribute to a major overhaul of the state’s tourism industry.

“By introducing a ‘bed tax’ – which is what this is regardless of how it is labelled – is essentially penalising our tourism industry for being the most successful industry and biggest contributor to Queensland’s economy,” said Mayor Leu.

“Our tourism industry is already subject to additional taxes such as the airport passenger tax which seems to be increased whenever the Federal Government is in need of a few extra dollars at budget time.
“We should not be penalising our tourism industry for being successful or basing the industry’s funding on the amount of extra tax revenue tourists can generate.

“We should be supporting our tourism industry with the funding it needs to continue to remain competitive and grow in an increasingly crowded international marketplace,” said Mayor Leu.

Ms Leu said our tourism industry is currently underfunded on a state and federal level. “We should be talking about how we can increase our support of tourism without slugging the industry with an extra tax burden.”

The news comes at a time when the NSW Government has committed to spending $300 million on regional and rural tourism and infrastructure.

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