France ponders luxury hotel tax

Ms Albanel said 70% of luxury hotel guests were foreigners

France is considering taxing luxury hotels to fund restoration work for hundreds of ageing historic buildings.

Culture Minister Christine Albanel said a two-euro (£1.50; $3) tax on four- and five-star hotels could be an "interesting" way to solve the problem.

A recent report by the ministry said some 41% of French heritage sites were in "bad condition" or even endangered.

A senior official in France's hotel industry said the tax could tarnish the image of the country's hotels.

Targeting tourists

But Ms Albanel told reporters that "two little euros, it's half the price of a soda from the minibar, in hotels where a night costs 180 to 220 euros (£134-164) or more".

She said the proposed tax could generate some 50m euros a year to top up the 300m euros of state funds allocated annually for restoration work.

Ms Albanel justified the plan by saying 70% of luxury hotel guests were foreign nationals, "who are often visiting in connection with our heritage".

The culture ministry also revealed that it was considering a tax on the national lottery or on the casino business.

Criticism

Ms Albanel's comments followed a culture ministry report which said 41% of France's historically significant monuments were in a poor condition, compared with 32% in 2002.

But a top official from luxury hotel association Relais & Chateax criticised Ms Albanel's plans.

"You think it's good for the brand image when foreigners... learn that it's again they who we're going to tax?" Dominique Loiseau told France's LCI television.

"It [is] not a question of two euros," he said.

The cost of restoring France's heritage sites is estimated to be about 400m euros every year.