The Tourism Alliance sounds an alarm: DO NOT increase tourism taxes! Investments would be reduced and hundreds of companies would go bankrupt; after 3 years of pandemic and war at the border, companies are decapitalized
Yesterday, July 31, 2023, the General Assembly of the Tourism Alliance (APT) took place in Timisoara, on the occasion of which two round tables were organized, the first to evaluate the legislation on Destination Management Organizations (DMOs), and the second on the topic of tourism taxation in the context of measures that could be taken by the Government and that could have a major impact on tourism in Romania.
The meeting hosted by the Association for the Promotion of Timișoara, in the year in which the municipality on the Bega River holds the title of European Capital of Culture, was attended by the 24 members of the APT and the mayor of Timișoara, Mr. Dominic Fritz, and the vice president of the Timiș County Council, Mr. Alexandru Proteasa.
The debate on OMDs was also attended in a hybrid format by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism (MEAT), Mr. Lucian Rus. The participants noted that more than a year after the adoption of the amendments regarding the functioning of OMDs, their number is very small, and their operationalization faces many problems, confirming the problems raised by the APT representatives after the adoption of the legislative amendments. The non-existent financing mechanisms, the complicated voting systems and the discriminatory accreditation procedure of new OMDs compared to existing associations risk leading to the failure to achieve the milestones assumed by the PNRR in the tourism chapter. Thus, APT proposed to MEAT the organization of workshops on the topic of financing, good practice models and the operationalization of OMDs, with the participation of other ministries and institutions involved in this process.
Regarding taxation issues, APT draws attention to the fact that the increase in VAT in tourism to the rate of 19% makes Romania an uncompetitive destination regionally and internationally, in the context of the VAT applied by other countries in tourism (Austria – 10%, Belgium – 6%, France – 10%, Germany – 7%, Bulgaria – 9%). The increase in taxation in tourism, in the context of the successive crises in the field that Romania has faced (COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine), corroborated with the lack of fiscal predictability, will affect the efforts to recover the field, will lead to a decrease in investments and the growth of the untaxed economy.
APT is open to dialogue with the relevant ministry and the Government to identify measures that can lead to increased tourism revenues, a clear path in this regard being the increase in the number of foreign tourists attracted. At present, the lack of an international promotion strategy and clear actions through which Romania can present to foreign tourists the many reasons why we are a destination worth choosing for any type of tourism undermines the achievement of this goal, with Romania remaining far below potential and being surpassed by surrounding countries.
During the General Assembly, the transfer of the rotating presidency of APT was also carried out, the new mandate of president being taken over by Mr. Alin Chipăilă from the Federation of Tourism Promotion Associations in Romania, vice-president being Mrs. Simona Constantinescu, president of the Federation of the Hotel Industry in Romania. The new board of directors of APT includes the Ecotourism Association and Romania and the Association for the Promotion of Timișoara in this mandate.
