Subic seeks more fees

SUBIC BAY Freeport—Tourists visiting this free port in Zambales would soon pay environment and tourism development fees (ETDF) that the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) would collect through tourism operators and establishments here.

In a public hearing last week, SBMA Chair Roberto Garcia said the fees would go to a fund earmarked for programs “that aim to mitigate the carbon footprints of tourists and visitors of Subic, as well as to develop and promote it as a premier tourist destination in the Philippines.”

SBMA seeks to collect P20 per person in theme parks, beaches and other tourism establishments where fixed entrance fees are charged, P100 per person per playing day in golf courses and P100 per room per night in hotels and other accommodation facilities in the free port.

It also proposed to collect 2 percent from gross purchases in restaurants, wellness and massage centers and other establishments. Jen Velarmino-van der Heijde, Contributor