As summer quickly approaches, many popular holiday destinations are trying to grapple with overtourism. The phenomenon has been linked to the housing crisis experienced in tourism hotspots as well as excessive pressure on the environment, local infrastructure and services.
One solution many cities and countries as a whole have found is charging visitors with a tourist tax, a measure that not only helps regulate the number of tourists but also raises funds for local governments to spend back into their cities and towns.
Dozens of holiday destinations are already requiring a tourist tax to be paid for by visitors, including Paris in France, Sicily in Italy and Budapest in Hungary.
In 2024, six holiday hotspots have announced they would either join the list of tourist tax enforcers or they are considering doing so in the near future. Express.co.uk has taken a look at these destinations.
Canary Islands
One day before tens of thousands of residents across the Canary Islands took their frustration at overtourism to the streets, the president of the archipelago, Fernando Clavijo, floated the idea of introducing a tourist tax.
He said on Friday: “It is true that the ecotax is not included in the government programme, but it is also true that we are willing to discuss it; the government will always engage in dialogue.”
People in Tenerife, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria made their voices heard with their protest on Saturday.
While they stressed they welcome tourists and acknowledge the islands’ economy depends on the industry, they are asking tourism giants and the local government to change the current model, which they believe heavily contributes to pushing up the cost of living, making houses unaffordable to locals and putting a strain on the environment and the daily lives of permanent residents.
(Image: Getty-STOCK)
Venice
The Italian lagoon has long tried to find a way to regulate the influx of visitors, and this year has introduced a “contribution to access” the historic centre, saying it is a way to protect the world-famous city.
Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said in a video published on the website explaining the new tax: “Venice is a fragile city, an ancient city with 1600 years of history, it has an extremely delicate balance, and we need to protect it.”
This new tax will be enforced only for a total of 29 days – those likely to be the busiest, including public holidays and weekends – from April 25 to mid-July. Moreover, only daytrippers accessing the city between 8.30am and 4pm local time will need to pay the £4.29 (€5) fee.
Those exempted from this tax are required to get a QR code from the dedicated website to show to local police officers.
(Image: Getty)
Bali
This Indonesian paradise, one of the world’s most popular holiday destinations, introduced the tourist tax for the first time on Valentine’s Day this year.
Foreign tourists heading to the province must now pay a £7.60 (150,000 rupiah) levy. The tax can be paid either upon arrival at special booths at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport or in the run-up to the trip, through the Love Bali website.
Authorities said the fee will be used to “preserve the environment, nature and culture as well as improving quality” in an area visited by millions of tourists every year.
Famous for its beaches and spiritual culture, the province has battled with rude tourists in recent years, and in March 2023 suggested it may ban foreign visitors from using motorbikes following a spate of cases involving people breaking traffic laws.
(Image: Getty-STOCK)
Portimão
This port city is the latest in the Portuguese region of Algarve to have introduced a tourist tax.
A year after Olhão, a fishing town popular with tourists, started charging visitors during peak season last year, Portimão introduced its own fee for tourists.
The tourist tax in Portimão varies depending on when tourists travel there and for how many nights.
People staying in this city between April 1 and October 31 will be required to fork out £1.71 (€2) per night, but if they holiday in the area during the low season, between November 1 and March 31, the tourist tax will come at £0.85 (€1) per night.
(Image: Getty-STOCK)
Iceland
Iceland was charging tourists a fee before the coronavirus pandemic, but when the COVID-19 crisis struck authorities decided to suspend it to not place a further burden on the tourism industry.
The tourist tax was, however, reintroduced on January 1 this year, and it comes at different prices depending on where tourists are staying.
A holiday stay at campsites requires visitors to pay the lowest tourist tax, coming at £1.73 (ISK 300).
Hotels and guesthouses require a tourist tax of £3.46 (ISK 600), while people aboard cruise ships stopping in Iceland’s ports will have to fork out £5.76 (ISK 1,000).
Like many other holiday destinations, Iceland has reintroduced this tax in a bid to protect its unique natural environment.
(Image: Getty-STOCK)
