Photo/Illutration Scores of people come and go at the pedestrian deck in front of JR Maihama Station in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, prompting the city government to launch a crowdfunding campaign last year to raise funds to repair its deteriorated tiles. (Daijiro Honda)

URAYASU, Chiba Prefecture--The city government here has announced it will start considering concrete plans to introduce a lodging tax for guests staying overnight in the city, home to the Tokyo Disney Resort.

The municipality intends to use revenues from the tax to improve tourism-related infrastructure.

It will set up a review committee comprised of academic experts, business operators and other professionals in fiscal 2024 to determine a start date, the tax amount and other details while coordinating with the central and prefectural governments.

“I think it will take at least one year to introduce (the tax),” said Urayasu Mayor Etsushi Uchida.

There are many hotels in the city, particularly around Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea.

About 8 million guests a year stayed overnight in the city before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Infrastructure improvements are required for the area surrounding JR Maihama Station, the gateway to the Disney parks, while emergency services for guests also need to be updated.

Lodging taxes have been introduced by the Tokyo metropolitan government and the Osaka prefectural government, as well as the city governments of Kyoto, Nagasaki and other municipalities, ranging between 100 yen ($0.66) and 1,000 yen per person per night.

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