Visitors to Saint Lucia will have to soon dig deeper into their pockets for their stay at hotels and resorts on the island.
On April 1, 2020, a new tax on visitors called the Accommodation Head Tax comes into effect, and will be charged at check-in.
It will be two-tiered and will not be applicable to guests under the age of 16 years.
The new tax will be implemented as follows:
-US$3 per night per guest staying at a hotel with an average ADR below US$120; and
-US$6 per night per guest staying at a hotel with an average ADR above US$120
It is to be applied to all non-sharing platform accommodation providers.
The rate of value-added tax (VAT) on hotel accommodation providers will be lowered from 10.0% to 7.0%.
Statistics have shown that there has been an increase of visitors to Saint Lucia 2019, Germans topping the list at 31 percent.
This is followed by arrivals from Canada with an increase of 20 percent and the US at 17 percent.