New Tax proposed on Bonaire Visitors

[tursiops]

See attached report from Bonaire.nu.
$50 per person per year....good for multiple visits during the year.
Not as bad as it seems; the room tax and car rental taxes would be dropped.
At Buddy Dive, for example, the room tax is $6.50 per day and the car tax is $1.13 per day, so a 7-day trip is $53.41. A $50 tax would actually save you money, especially for longer or multiple trips.
Here's the catch: apparently much of the housing that visitors use in Bonaire is NOT currently paying the daily room tax, so the point of the new tax is to catch those visitors currently not "seen." You guys WILL be paying more.

 

[Martijn]

Now what is going to be the definition of a tourist.
If I go to the Netherlands to stay with my family, I don't need to pay tourist taxes, but when they visit me -and stay at my place-, now they do...

 

[cpace]

Maybe they can use some of that money to do some road work

 

[adiverslife]

In most island locations where they depend on tourist dollars they have a tax that you pay. This is their main source of income and if you want to go to these places and not experience poor island infrastructure, poorly protected reefs, thefts, then you have to some money. In the grand scheme of things $50 is noise for trip expenses. Raja Ampat is way, way more - like 4 times more.