Wednesday 12 / March / 2025
Muscat: People travelling abroad this Eid should keep in mind a few unforeseen expenses. A growing number of destinations worldwide are collecting a tax on tourists – a fee that’s often added to hotel bills or charged upon arrival to boost their revenues.
Bhutan
In Bhutan tourists are charged $100 (OMR 39) as Sustainable Development Fee per person per day to visit except those from India, who presently pay INR1200 (OMR 6) per person per night.
Bhutan’s tourism authority says this revenue goes directly toward helping the country’s approximately 800,000 citizens. Authorities put tourists’ money toward health care, education and infrastructure while strengthening initiatives that support the environment and help local businesses.
Spain
The population of the Spanish island of Mallorca is similar to that of Bhutan. However, residents there have been inundated with tourists in recent years and have staged numerous protests.
About 13 million people vacationed on the island in 2024. As a result, it’s hardly surprising that many residents have been lobbying to put limits on mass tourism.
The island installed an accommodation tax in 2016. Depending on the hotel category, vacationers must pay up to €4 per day. However, this tax has done little to deter tourists from visiting — the island sets new tourism records year after year.
Then in Barcelona, for example, travellers currently pay up to €7.50 per day, depending on the hotel category.
Germany and France
In Berlin, meanwhile, a tax of 7.5% of the price of an overnight stay is charged, while in Paris visitors may have to pay almost €16 a night for the most expensive category of hotels.
In many destinations, the revenue from tourism taxes makes up a significant portion of a city’s tax-related revenue.
In Barcelona, the money earned from tourism taxes is around €100 million ($104 million), according to the municipality, making it the third-largest source of municipal income. Yet, Barcelona has been wracked with anti-tourism protests as locals face soaring rent prices due to short-term holiday rentals from companies like Airbnb. As a result, Barcelona’s authorities say they are now deliberately focusing on financing projects that benefit the general public and not just the tourism sector. Around €100 million ($104 million), raised from taxes on overnight stays in tourist accommodations, is currently going into Barcelona’s School Climate Plan, which installs climate control systems in the city’s schools.
The revenue from the overnight accommodation tax in Berlin, also known as the City Tax, has not yet been earmarked. The money, which was almost €90 million in 2024, currently flows into the city’s general budget.
Netherlands
This is also the case in Amsterdam, where a tourist tax has been in place since 1973. It currently amounts to 12.5% of the price of an overnight stay and is expected to generate revenue of €260 million in 2025, according to a spokesperson for the city council. City officials maintain that the tax is both an important source of revenue and a tool to control tourism growth. However, the deterrent effect of such a tax is likely to be small.
Venice
After much ado, Venice, Italy, initiated its much-talked-about tourist tax in 2024. Day-trippers had to pay an entrance fee of €5 on 29 peak season days. Opposition politicians criticised the fee for being too low to deter tourists from visiting the overcrowded city. As a result, Venice pushed up the number of fee-charging days to 54. Anyone who does not pay the fee four days in advance of their visit will now have to pay €10.
