TOURIST TAX INCREASE

Minister of Trade and Tourism Denis Šulić has announced the abolition of the flat rate for private accommodation and stated that the tourist tax will be charged per number of overnight stays.

PHOTO: Pixabay

- We are moving forward with the Draft, we had a public discussion in Pale, in Banja Luka, and we plan to have more in Bijeljina and Trebinje. We want to engage with all interested parties regarding the tourist tax. The novelty is that we are abolishing the flat rate, and as of January 1, 2025, private accommodation will operate in such a way that the tourist tax will be paid per number of overnight stays, not as a flat rate as it has been so far. We are increasing the tourist tax from 0.50 KM to between 1.5 KM and 3 KM. There was a request from Pale not to raise the tax above 3 KM, and that has been accepted, said Šulić.

He emphasized that everyone has reacted positively to this idea and that local communities will set the tourist taxes.

- Avoiding the payment of the tourist tax and operating in the gray zone harms those who work in tourism the most. We cannot then develop that tourist destination, and they cannot attract a larger number of tourists. We are conducting education with our people who work in tourism, and I am pleased to see better results than last year, which was a record year. I hope this summer will show that Republika Srpska is on a stable path of tourism development, Šulić concluded.