Just days before it is due to roll out, Malaysia has again tweaked its hotel tax policy.

Now all Malaysian citizens will be exempt, and foreign travellers will now pay a flat RM10 charge per night at all hotels.

The new policy was announced this week by tourism and culture minister Nazri Aziz. The original plan was for a rate of between RM2 to RM20 per night depending on the star rating which was applicable for all guests – foreign tourists and Malaysians. “We will impose a RM10 flat rate from five-star to zero-star hotels for foreign tourists, and Malaysians will be exempted from the tax across all classifications of hotels,” he said in parliament. Nazri said the tourism ministry expects the tax will generate about US49 million a year based on current occupancy rates.

“We expect the collection to increase when more tourist accommodation premises come forward to register with the enforcement of the Tourism Tax Act. The ministry also plans to return RM1 for every RM10 in tax per room per night collected, to the state governments for the purpose of promoting tourism,” he said. The tax regime was due to start on August 1, but may be pushed back again.