"Kyoto City pushes for a 10-fold increase in accommodation tax...Up to 92,000 won".

Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture, Japan's leading historical and tourism city, plans to raise the maximum per-night accommodation tax imposed on hotel and inn guests from 1,000 yen (about 9,200 won) to 10,000 yen (about 92,000 won), the Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

Kyoto City plans to submit such amendments to the ordinance on accommodation taxes to the parliament as early as next month.

If the amendment is approved, the new accommodation tax will be applied as early as next year.

Since October 2018, Kyoto City has imposed accommodation taxes of 200 to 1,000 yen (about 1,840 won to 9,200 won) depending on the overnight accommodation rate per person.

Kyoto City plans to subdivide the current accommodation tax system, which is three levels, into five levels and pay 10,000 yen in accommodation tax if the overnight accommodation fee exceeds 100,000 yen.

As a result, travelers staying in luxury accommodations are expected to pay a significant increase in accommodation taxes.

Kyoto Mayor Koji Matsui, who took office in February last year, said he would raise accommodation taxes to improve the environment in response to the increase in tourists.

Kyoto City's accommodation tax revenue reached an all-time high of 5.2 billion yen (about 47.8 billion won) in fiscal year 2023 (April 2023 to March 2024), which is expected to increase to 10 billion yen (about 92 billion yen) per year once the increase is finalized, Yomiuri said.

In Japan, as the number of foreign travelers has increased rapidly, more and more local governments are seeking to raise accommodation taxes and introduce new ones.