The $200 per day visitor charge was assessed beginning in late 2022.
In the spring of 2023, they have modified the fee – still $200 per day per visitor for the first 4 days, but then up to an additional four days at no additional fee. It is a sliding scale – the longer one stays and the more fees that are paid, the more ‘free’ days are added.
The Sustainable Development Fee is part of a new program that many countries are pursuing to encourage longer stays by people who spend more money. They want wealthy visitors who spend more money and stay longer.
Several countries have added “sustainable tourism” fees, “climatecrisis” fees, tourist impact fees – all with the same goal of restricting travel primarily to wealthier visitors.