MTA faults shuttle bus tax removal
The Malawi Tourism Association (MTA) says although welcome, the incentive to remove taxes on shuttle buses offered to hoteliers does not really solve the problem of moving tourists from the airports to other places.
In the 2013/14 fiscal budget, Finance Minister Ken Lipenga announced the removal of taxes on shuttle buses in an effort to further spur the growth of the tourism sector, as one of the priority sectors of the Economic Recovery Plan (ERP).
Lipenga said the removal of the taxes was done to ease the problem of transportation of guests in hotels and resorts.
The provision is expected to allow hotels, lodges and inns with guest capacity of 50 rooms or more to import two shuttle buses every five years without payment of duties.
However, MTA executive director Sam Botomani noted that this tax measure does not entirely solve the problem of moving tourists from the airports and cities to other places of attraction such as the lakeshore, Mulanje Mountain, Nyika National Park, Nkhotakota Game Reserve, Liwonde National park, Lengwe National Park as that job is done by tour operators and car hire companies .
“In most cases, the job of transporting tourists from airports is done by tour operators, car hire companies and taxis and not hoteliers. In many countries, vehicles that ferry passengers from the airports to hotels belong to transport companies although they bear the name of hotels.
“Tour operators and car hire companies play a very important role because they put together itineraries, sell them and move the people around. The core job of hoteliers is provision of accommodation, food and related services,” he argued.
Government also removed taxes on off-road game/scenery viewing motor vehicles (Safaris) to further support the tourism sector.
As a sector with direct linkages with other sectors of the economy, tourism was identified as one of the pillars in the ERP along with transport infrastructure, energy, mining and agriculture.
Tourism comprises many components which are operated by different professional organisations such as air transporters, tour operators, ground transporters, taxis, accommodation and catering firms and entertainment operators.
