The Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) wants to repeal the Php1,620 travel tax and replace it with a Php500 fee for all departing Filipino and foreign tourists.
Under the current law, passengers who are flying from the country are required to pay the P1,620 travel tax for economy class and P2,700 for first class.
TIEZA chief operating officer Pocholo Paragas said that they are looking into creating a Tourist Development Fund (TDF) that will be used for the improvement and development of tourist infrastructures in the country, reported Philstar.
He explained that the P500 is significantly lighter and will lessen the burden on Filipino travelers.
The draft bill for the establishment of the fund was submitted to President Rodrigo Duterte last December, according to Paragas.
TIEZA is the tourism infrastructure arm of the Department of Tourism. It is in charge of developing and supervising tourism infrastructure projects in the country.
