Published: 03 February 2014

Zimbabwe's hotels will become uncompetitive while recent improvements in tourist arrivals may be reversed if government's plan to extend value added tax to non-residents goes through, industry players warned.

Glenn Stutchbury, Cresta Hotels' chief executive, said the imposition of the levy will effectively increase prices by 15%, rendering the country non-competitive as a tourist destination.

Consequently, the hotelier said, foreign visitors' numbers into the country will be reduced.

In the recent 2014 National Budget, Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa proposed that Vat be imposed on payments for accommodation and services by forensic visitors, a major reversal of the longstanding policy of not doing so.
- dailynews

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