FIJI TIMES 26 February 2020 – There are over 400 Airbnb properties competing with the hotels and resorts however the growing market has been unregulated.
This was revealed by Fiji Hotel and Tourism CEO Fantasha Lockington who said one of the reasons people could have been opting for this option was because of its affordability.
“It’s good to have more beds and accommodation available for an increasing tourism market but it’s not regulated meaning, there is no OHS requirement, there is no cleanliness requirement, there is just no requirement,” said Ms Lockington.
“They don’t pay the taxes that the tourism industries pay.”
She said the association had given advice to the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service to take a look at what Australia and New Zealand were doing.
“What New Zealand does is whatever municipality your Airbnb is in, the council tells you that you are in a residential area but you are running a commercial organisation or business, so you must pay commercial rate, so at least they start with that.”
Read more on the need to regulate the booming Airbnb market in tomorrow’s edition of The Fiji Times.
