The local council’s decision to impose tourist taxes on restaurant bills in Aden sparked widespread controversy on social media.

Local councils in Aden imposed a new tax of 3% on bills for restaurants, hotels, entertainment venues, and chalets.

Many citizens expressed their dissatisfaction with this decision, considering that it increases the financial burden on their shoulders in light of the difficult economic conditions in which they live.

Some wondered why a tourist tax was imposed on a people suffering from poverty and hunger, instead of improving their livelihood and providing them with basic services.

Activists demanded that the decision be reconsidered, and that tax funds be used to improve basic services such as: employing youth, improving government hospitals, providing all treatments to patients, increasing employee salaries, improving electricity, and raising the level of well-being for citizens.

Some activists compared imposing tourist taxes in Aden with imposing them in countries where people enjoy a decent life and good services.

They stressed that imposing a tourist tax on a people suffering from a lack of basic services is unacceptable.