Shawdesh Desk:

Although a sharp increase in allocation for the pandemic-affected tourism sector in the budget made the entrepreneurs happy, tax at source proposal however brought new worries for them.

While placing the proposed budget in Parliament, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal allocated a total of Tk 7,004 crore for the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.

He also announced an incentive of Tk 1,000 crore for the tourism industry to help it revive from the brunt of the protracted Covid-induced pandemic and the current uncertainties.

Though the incentive was declared earlier as a part of the stimulus package, service providers of the tourism sector have appreciated it and the rising allocation.

But they said the proposal of source tax deduction on hotels, resorts and community centres has hurt them.

“The increase in allocation for the tourism industry and announcement of an incentive are really commendable. These will help the sector come out the economic shocks caused by coronavirus pandemic but the proposal of source tax deduction on hotels, resorts and community centres is unexpected,” said Tourism Resort Industries Association of Bangladesh (TRIAB) President Khabir Uddin Ahmed.

He said the hotel and resort sector lost around Tk 20,000 core during pandemic and such proposal will affect the industry further in the post-COVID days.

He said hotels, resorts and community centers of the country just began to recover from the losses incurred during the pandemic.

The government has allotted money to build a number of parks in the popular tourism spot Cox’s Bazar with accommodation and recreational facilities of international standards.

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal in his budget speech said that steps are being taken to set up Sabrang Tourism Park, Naf Tourism Park, and Sonadia Eco-Tourism Park in Cox’s Bazar.

About the tax at source proposal, Manager of Sylhet’s Britania Hotel Kawsar Khan said that the source tax deduction will make them bound to charge the travelers more, which it will ultimately discourage the visitors to explore local tourist spots.

He said this will make tourism expensive and urged the government to withdraw the proposal.

In a research report in April, Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) said that the tourism sector lost Tk 60,000 crore during the pandemic while some 141,000 workers lost their jobs in the sector.

Joydeb Saha, a former coordinator of tourist guides in Cox’s Bazar, said, “Coronavirus pandemic has stormed my life. I was terminated from my job in February last year after working eight years in the sector. In the proposed budget, I have found nothing specific for people like me.”

Tourism sector veterans and experts opined that the sector can be benefitted if the announced incentive can be disbursed properly.

They said the government should make the process easier so that the tourism sector stakeholders can benefit from the incentive.

“If hotel and resort owners can invest more to attract tourists, the experienced employees who lost jobs during the pandemic will automatically get back their jobs,” said former chairman of Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation, Shafique Alam Mehdi.