With a 'per bed per night' tourist tax now applicable in Lisbon, which other european countries apply a tax on visitors?
Such taxes capture revenue from outside the country so they are politically easy as voters don’t pay the tax; tourists and other travellers do raising a ‘taxation without representation’ issue.
Governments are accountable to tourists through market mechanisms so if the promised ‘investments’ from the tax are not used to develop an enhanced and tourist-friendly environment, then they will take their tourism euros elsewhere.
Austria:
Tourists have to pay for an for an overnight accommodation tax, charged according to the province you are staying in. It’s currently around £1.72 per person per night. Children under 15 are exempt.
Belgium:
In Antwerp there is a fixed rate of £1.89 per person per night for hotels or 42p per night for campsites. In Bruges, there is a tourist tax of £1.58 per person per night. This applies to all tourist accommodation. Ghent has a City Tax of £1.95 per person per night. And in Brussels, there is a City Tax which is charged per room, per year according to Borough, hotel size and hotel classification. For example, a stay at the Brussels Novotel will charge you £5.86 per night.
Bulgaria:
They have a City Tax or a Resort Tax on visitors which varies by area and hotel classification. City Tax is charged per person per night. It ranged from 39p to £1.20.
The Resort Tax applies in some areas like Littoral and is charged per person, per stay as opposed to per person, per night.
Croatia:
Holidaymakers over 18 will have to pay a ‘Sojourn Tax’. This ranges from 21p per person, per night to 73p depending on the category of accommodation and the season. Those aged between 12-18 will enjoy a 50 per cent discount.
France:
There is tourist tax which is charged per person, per night and varies due to the quality of accommodation.
Germany:
The country usually refers to these taxes as Bed Tax or Culture Tax. The taxes can be around £4 per night or 5 per cent of your room bill.
This will depend on the type of accommodation you’re staying in and your location.
Netherlands:
The tourist accommodation tax here is charged per person, per night in nearly all of the 421 municipalities. They can vary due to hotel grade and accommodation type. The other municipalities charge a percentage which can vary by hotel star, rating or type of accommodation.
Portugal:
Since January 2016, visitors to the capital of Lisbon have to pay a Municipal Tourist Tax of 79p per person per night. Children under 13 are exempt.
The tax revenue does not yet match the number of visitors arriving in the capital with many of those arriving by air not being asked for payment but the accommodation sector is acting as the main tax collector.
Individual of the Algarve's mayors are pushing to introduce a similar scheme in the south.
Romania:
This tax is charged at 1 per cent against the total value of the accommodation for each night. If the accommodation is in a tourist resort the tax is for the first night only.
Slovenia:
The tourist tax here ranges from 48p to 99p per person, per night. This does vary on location and hotel grade. The capital of Llubljana charges a daily tourist tax of 49p to 99p. In Vane?a, Fokovci, Vino and Moravske Toplice, the tax is currently 80p per person, per night for adults.
Spain
The tax ranges from €2 (£1.66) a day for customers residing in five-star resorts to 50 cents for those staying in hostels and shelters. The tax will be discounted 50% for stays in low season and longer than 20 days.
In all cases, holidaymakers will now be asked to make a payment on arrival or when as they are set to return home.
The tax will not apply to children under 16 but parents will have to provide proof of age with passports or other legal documentation.
The popular holiday hotspots set to be hit by the tax include Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera and although the Balearic government is hailing the tax, expected to €30 million a year, as a success, travel agents and hoteliers remain sceptical about the effect it is having on tourism to the islands.
The autonomous Spanish community of Catalonia, whose Costa Brava is one of Spain’s most popular tourist destinations, started to levy a tourist tax on November 1, 2012.
The Catalonia Tourist Tax applies to any facility where tourists stay overnight, from campgrounds and youths hostel to hotels and cruise ships.
Tourist apartments and private houses rented to tourists are subject to the charges as well.
Switzerland:
Anyone staying overnight in Switzerland will have to pay a tourist tax. It’s charged per person, per night and will vary by town and accommodation. The tax is divided into two elements.
The Beherbergungsabgabe (BA tax) and Kurtaxe. The BA tax goes towards paying for tourism advertising and maintaining infrastructure in regions, but the Kurtaxe is used to improve the tourism experience for visitors.
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European country research based on an online Express report, 2016
