General News
5 November, 2025
Tourism tax on agenda
A BED tax or tourism levy to take the burden off Douglas Shire ratepayers is being considered by council.
Council is pondering a levy or tax on visitors, usually per night, as part of finding “a sustainable tourism funding model”.
Cairns Regional Council has been trying to implement a levy of about 2.5% to raise about $16 million a year for tourism promotion and industry development.
But it requires an amendment to state legislation so council could collect the levy.
Council wants a funding model to help maintain and improve local infrastructure while continuing to grow the region’s thriving visitor economy.
With more than 700,000 visitors in the year ending March 2025, the Shire remains one of Australia’s most popular destinations.
However, Mayor Lisa Scomazzon said the cost of supporting the visitor economy and investing in tourism infrastructure was currently carried by a small number of local ratepayers.
She said council was committed to investing in tourism but wanted to ensure the financial burden was shared and sustainable.
“We’re proud to host hundreds of thousands of visitors each year and we love sharing the beauty of Douglas Shire with the world,” she said.
“Tourism is vital to our economy, but the reality is that our ratepayers are footing the bill for the infrastructure and services that support it.
“We believe there’s an opportunity to explore a fairer, more sustainable funding model that allows us to invest in tourism and essential services without increasing pressure on our community.”
Cr Scomazzon told last week’s council meeting that she had “already begun advocating strongly with both state government and the opposition, but unfortunately, it appears this will be a long road ahead for councils that would like to opt in on to this”.
“At this stage, there has been no commitment to support the project, despite the fact that it would significantly reduce the financial burden on our ratepayers,” she said.
“These numbers clearly show that we are a thriving tourism industry in a region of just over 13,000 residents.
“We truly punch above our weight in delivering high quality services and experiences to our visitors.
“However, the time has come to recognise that our ratepayers cannot continue to shoulder this cost from the existing rate base.
“This will not be the end of our tourism, as many destinations across the globe have introduced tourism levies, or visitor taxes to help fund the infrastructure and services that support their visitors economies.
Cr Scomazzon said there was a $15 tourism tax in Bali, a 2% tourism levy in Kenya and up to 10% Euro a night in Italy.
She said the purpose of the tourist levies were to generate dedicated revenue for local governments to invest in infrastructure and public services address and relieve ratepayers from the growing cost of maintaining tourism infrastructure.
Cr Abigail Noli told the meeting that Douglas Shire was the most tourism reliant destination in Australia, probably with 85% of the local economy tied to tourism.
“So, a sustainable tourism funding is essential for maintaining the region’s economic, environmental, social and cultural wellbeing,” she said.
“With 700,000-plus visitors that came to Douglas Shire up until March this year, they do not directly contribute to the infrastructure maintenance or regional investment, so the financial burden falls heavily on our limited number of ratepayers.”
Read More: Douglas Shire
