Why are hotel taxes so high in the Maldives?

The reason why hotel taxes in the Maldives are relatively high is that the Maldives is an island country without particularly rich natural resources. The country's territory is scattered and transportation is inconvenient, making it impossible to develop industry at all. Economic growth can only rely on tourism and tourism-related industries. When the number of tourists cannot make a qualitative leap, economic growth can only rely on continuously increasing tourism taxes. In recent years, the increasing number of tourists has caused great damage to the underwater ecology of the Maldives. The Maldivian government spends a large amount of money every year to save the severely bleached coral reefs.

The taxes in the Maldives are collectively called GST, which is Goods & Service Tax. As the name suggests, it includes both goods tax and service tax. The current policy stipulates that the commodity tax is 12 and the service tax is 10. The above two taxes are taxes stipulated by the Maldives and cannot be refunded when leaving the country. In addition, if you stay in the hotel, you need to pay an environmental tax of US$6 per person. For example, if the room you stay in costs 1,000 U.S. dollars without other fees, and two people stay, you need to pay 1,000 120 100 12 = 1,232 U.S. dollars. If you just purchase goods, there is no environmental tax.

Currently, packages booked from agents and third-party platforms generally include taxes, service fees, and environmental taxes, and do not need to be paid separately after arriving on the island. If you book a room on the official website by yourself, taxes, service fees and environmental tax are generally not included and need to be paid separately after arriving on the island.