The mayor of Villavieja, Álvaro Andrés Charry, announced that, since last Saturday, April 9, a “consumption tax” has already been charged for entering the Tatacoa desert (Huila), in order to obtain resources to sustain this Colombian tourist attraction.
According to Charry, the tourist tax will be charged to agencies and operators that profit from tourism in the desert, so they will have to pay the municipal administration 3,000 pesos for each person who enters the Tatacoa.
Once the agencies and tour operators cancel the corresponding fee, according to the Mayor's Office of Villavieja, the tourist will receive a handle with which they can enter the observatory, the spa and the museum, among other spaces.
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Handles can be purchased at the Paleontological Museum of Villavieja (south side of the Reynaldo Matiz Trujillo Park), the tourist office (continued to the Paleontological Museum) or at the OATA Municipal Observatory (Vereda Cusco).
At present, according to the newspaper El Espectador, 54 accommodation service providers with the National Registry of Active Tourism operate in the municipality of Villavieja, of which 16 are located in the Tatacoa desert.
In this regard, the municipal mayor's office requested through a document “that all the people who manage groups of tourists visiting our municipality, disseminate this information so that each of the visitors is aware of the payment they must make, come with the appropriate budget and avoid inconveniences due to lack of information and knowledge of the new regulation and the collection of this surcharge”.
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As part of the celebration of the Major Week, the Government of Huila announced that it would carry out a wide range of cultural activities to promote religious tourism in the region. According to the departmental administration, the first activity will be held this Holy Thursday at the Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Neiva, where nearly 100 artists will present a lyrical gala at 8 pm.
For Good Friday, the opera will take the inspection of La Jagua in the municipality of Garzón from 6:30 in the evening.
The Government also reported that, in the municipalities of Neiva, Garzón and San Agustín, different art exhibitions and concerts will be held so that both Huilenses and tourists can enjoy the cultural and religious tourism of the opita territory.
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