Moscow, Jan 1 (IANS): A new tourist tax has come into effect across Russia on Wednesday, replacing the previous resort fee, local media on Wednesday.

From January 1, 2025, travellers staying in hotels and other accommodations will contribute an additional 1 per cent of their lodging costs, marking the start of a phased plan to bolster regional tourism infrastructure, reports Xinhua, quoting RIA Novosti news agency.

The tax was introduced as part of amendments to the Russian Tax Code in July 2024, which added a new chapter titled "Tourist Tax," granting regional authorities discretion to implement the tax as a local levy. Many regions, particularly those with established or emerging tourism industries, have already embraced the initiative.

Under the current framework, the tourist tax will begin at a rate of 1 per cent in 2025 and gradually rise to 3 per cent by 2027. To ensure a baseline contribution, a minimum daily charge of 100 rubles (0.9 US dollars) has been established.

While hotels and other lodging providers are technically taxpayers, the cost will be incorporated into the price of accommodations, thus being passed on to tourists.

Additionally, Russia has also officially dropped export duties on anthracite, coking coal, and thermal coal starting January 1, 2025, local media reported on Wednesday.

Introduced on October 1, 2023, flexible export duties were in place until the end of 2024. However, duties on anthracite and thermal coal were temporarily suspended between May 1 and November 30, 2024.

In November 2024, the Russian government decided to lift the export duty on coking coal ahead of schedule and extended the suspension of duties on anthracite and thermal coal to support the coal industry.