in tickets and accommodation
RR | Bogota | June 13, 2024
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RELATED TOPICS: Anato, Avianca, Congress of the Republic, VAT, Latam, Paula Cortés, Roberto Alvo, Wingo
Travel agencies, hoteliers and airlines such as Avianca and Latam have advocated for VAT on tickets and accommodation to be lowered. In this regard, Paula Cortés, president of Anato, pointed out to REPORTUR.cothat the contraction in Travel demand is attributed to VAT and commented on the projects that the tourism sector has in the Congress of the Republic.
“We have seen in the Travel agency sector and hoteliers have also said it that there is a contraction in demand and we attribute it, as the airlines also attribute it, to the failure to lower the VAT on tickets. and the VAT on accommodation, which was and we continue to think is important to seek this reactivation,” Cortés told this newspaper.
Likewise, he reiterated that they continue in the fight to lower the VAT and that is why they continue to support the bills that the sector has presented to Congress. “It is an issue that we will continue to fight, we have five bills that we are supporting in the Congress of the Republic, all more or less talking about the same thing, the incentives are in the first debate, waiting to see if it works or not, But since every day we wake up with a reform, then ours cannot advance,” Cortés explained to REPORTUR.co.
As reported REPORTUR.co, In March, Roberto Alvo, CEO of Latam, highlighted the gigantic potential that Colombia has in terms of tourism, but pointed out at the time that it does not “explode” due to the tax burden on tickets, which sometimes exceeds half the cost of the ticket. (Latam: tourism in Colombia does not “explode” due to high ticket rates).
“What happens is that Colombia is a country that has a large industry, but it has gigantic potential. And the problem is why that potential is not exploited. One of the important reasons is the tax burden, the tax burden on tickets in Colombia is very large. We start with a VAT of 19%, we have taxes. And in many cases, especially in the cheapest tickets, the cost of all these taxes and fees exceeds half of the cost of the ticket,” Alvo said at the time.
