Local governments budget replenished by 314 million tenge due to tourist fees

The budget of local governments has been replenished by 314 million tenge due to tourist fees from foreigners since the start of this year. According to the press service of the Kazakh Ministry of Culture and Sports, the city of Almaty holds a leading position in terms of contributions, accounting for 86 percent of the total amount or over 270 million tenge, and is followed by Astana, the country’s capital, with more than 37 million of tourist fees. The so-called ‘bed tax’ is levied on foreign visitors in Kazakhstan for each day of their stay in hotels since the beginning of the year. The accumulated funds go to the budgets of local executive bodies and are allocated for the development of tourism, improvement of territories and implementation of measures to promote tourism opportunities. This practice is already applied in more than 50 countries of the world, and thus, it will not be a novelty for foreign travelers, the Ministry notes.

Web-editor: Aizhan