How summer tourism affects the market in Argentina and booking through Airbnb and Booking

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

The announcement about the return of the "tourist dollar" by the Chief of Cabinet of Aníbal Fernández, Santiago Cafiero, shook the sector.

From an interview on Radio 10, the official reaffirmed what was speculated weeks ago about the card purchase for both products and services abroad.

Although the law is not yet regulated, it began to speculate on the platforms that will receive the impact of this new rate, which, according to Cafiero, will be 30% more expensive.

Within the local tourism sector uncertainty began to grow near the high summer season. It is that many tourists use platforms like Airbnb and Booking to organize their vacations.

As Clarín explains, it is not yet known if this surcharge will reach the platforms that trade intermediaries with local tourists.

Industry sources assured Clarín that the new tax will probably apply in these operations, which are in dollars.

"The same thing will happen to Airbnb and Booking as to Netflix and Spotify, since they are companies that are not based in Argentina."

To understand what the problem is, you must first describe what the money circuit is like.

"When you make a contract through these pages with the credit card, the bank pays Airbnb or Booking the total amount of what was rented. Then, after charging a commission, they deposit the silver in pesos in the account to the tenant. And finally, the bank debts the debt in pesos to the tenant."

This means, therefore, that renting something within the country - for example a hotel room in Córdoba or an apartment in Mar del Plata -, through these foreign agencies involves conducting an operation in dollars outside the country, with which , according to Clarín sources from the tourism sector, "the 30% tax will probably be applied."

If so, many local tourists who want to vacation within the country but use these platforms must also pay the surcharge for the "tourist dollar."

The novelty will affect many people. According to the Airbnb site, the 5 destinations most chosen by Argentinians, for summer vacations are: Rio de Janeiro, Florianopolis, Mar del Plata, Bariloche, Villa Gesell. In other words, three places in the top 5 correspond to local destinations.

According to the data collected, it is estimated that travelers will be, for the most part, from Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Rosario, aged between 40 and 49 years, closely followed by the group of 30 to 39 years. The average stay of travelers will be 7 nights.

Argentina, considered on Airbnb as one of the most important destinations in Latin America, already has more than 52,000 active accommodations that can receive both local and international travelers during the high season.

In the tourism sector they still do not know how the new tax will be applied and how it will affect the demand for local tourism.

"You have to see if it will be a tax or a perception as it was in 2015, that they returned it with the income tax."

Beyond a doubt, there is something that is safe in the sector and that neither Airbnb nor Booking are based in Argentina, so this could be a reason to apply the tax on the operations that are done on these platforms, for more that are to vacation within the country.

"What these pages can do is just charge you the commission (which is between 15-17% of the reservation) and give you the option to pay for accommodation on site. This gives the tourist the opportunity to get out of the tax for the tourist dollar," said sources in the sector.

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

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