He Ministry of Tourism of Uruguay launched the 2023-2024 summer season last week and made an announcement that aims to develop domestic tourism in the face of the growth of outbound tourism: the Value Added Tax (VAT) zero for Uruguayans who decide to vacation in the country.
During the official presentation last weekend in the department of Rocha, which was even attended by the president Luis Lacalle Pouthe Minister of Tourism Tabare Viera announced that Uruguayan tourists who decide to vacation in the country will have zero VAT on hotels.
The keys to measurement
The ministry announced this measure that had been requested for months by the tourism sector that is suffering from the exchange gap with Argentina, which causes more and more Uruguayans choose the neighboring country for vacation, or even other parts of the world due to economic convenience.
From the portfolio they clarified that the benefit will begin to take effect between December 15 and March 31 of next year for hotels with a turnover of less than 10 million Indexed Units (UI).
Meanwhile, the measure covers hotels that are registered as apart hotel, Hotels properly speaking, motel, inn, establishment of rural tourism, accommodation and spaces with similar characteristics. The benefit will be granted only to places that are registered in the Ministry of Tourism.
A 50% subsidy for hotel rates
Another measure recently announced by the portfolio led by Viera is the subsidy 50% for hotel rateswith the aim of making the national offer more competitive compared to the options of Brazil and Argentina.
From February or March this new program will begin to operate, which seeks to be a support for the local tourism sector during the low season, months in which it usually depends mostly on the movement of the Uruguayan residents themselves.
The measure contemplates a 50% subsidy for hotel rates intended for both public and private workers, and Uruguayans who have a monthly income of up to 50,000 pesos will be able to access it.
Each person who uses the benefit will be able to access the program with a companion, and the packages will be available in the hotels that sign up for the new program.
Source: Ambito
