South Korea: Jeju Island considers imposing eco-tourism tax

Jeju - a resort island in southern South Korea - is planning to impose an eco -tourism tax on visitors to limit the negative impacts of tourism on the environment.

Jeju Island attracts more than 10 million tourists every year. Photo: Yonhap

Specifically, the report by the Korea Environment Institute (KEI) proposed charging 1,500 won per person (about 1.1 USD per person) per night for accommodation, 5,000 won (3.76 USD) for a rented vehicle per day, and 5% of the rental bus fee as a green tax.

Revenue from the tax would be used to address the island's growing pollution and wastewater problems, while protecting natural resources from the influx of more than 10 million tourists who flock here each year.

The fee was proposed in a 2018 study by the Korea Local Finance Association on the validity of an ecotourism tax. A group of four tourists staying for four days and three nights on Jeju Island and traveling by rental car would be taxed 38,000 won ($28.60). The report also noted that this was the first time Korea had imposed such a tax, although similar taxes are common in many other tourist destinations around the world , especially in Europe.

According to KEI, Jeju Island’s nature is a unique ecotourism destination, with Korea’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, including Jeju Volcanic Island, Lava Tubes, and other internationally recognized biosphere reserves. However, tourism is becoming a major source of pollution on the island, and the provincial government has to spend a lot of money to fix it, leading to a large budget deficit. Jeju currently ranks last in terms of economy among South Korean municipalities. Since 2012, the Jeju government has also tried to introduce similar taxes such as a “tourism tax,” “environmental tax,” “cost sharing,” and “contribution fee,” but all failed due to opposition from many stakeholders.

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Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/han-quoc-dao-jeju-xem-xet-ap-thue-du-lich-sinh-thai-post731045.html