Noooo, staycations within the country will be more expensive from August 1st onwards as the Customs Department will be implementing a tourism tax for accommodation premises, on top of GST (goods and service charge) and service charge.
Applicable to both Malaysians and foreigners, the tourism tax applies for all types of accommodation except homestays, kampung stays, premises run by religious institutions and those with less than 10 rooms.
The tourism tax will be charged as follows: RM2.50 for non-rated accommodations, RM5 for one- to three-star accommodations, RM10 for four-star accommodations and RM30 for five-star accommodations.
Clearly, everyone, including locals and those abroad, are unhappy with the decision..