Dubai is poised to introduce an accommodation tax on all stays within the Emirate from the end of March 2014.
The funds raised will go towards the cost of hosting the Expo 2020, which is held every five years for a six month duration. The new tourist room tax is known as the ‘Tourism Dirham’ and will be applied as a hospitality fee on stays from the end of next month.
Applicable to travellers staying in hotels, guesthouses, apartments and holiday homes, the tax will cost between Dh7 (1.90 USD) to Dh20 (5.40 USD) per room, per night, depending on the type of accommodation.
The levy will also go towards promoting Dubai across the world as a premier travel and tourism destination in addition to funding the hosting of the prestigious Expo 2020, which is estimated to cost in excess of 8.7 billion USD to host.
