Three popular European cities are introducing new ‘tourist taxes’ as a row rages over a proposed EU tourist tax that all Brits will have to pay to cross the EU border.
Venice, Valencia and Barcelona will all impose new tourist taxes during 2023, a move some travel agencies have warned will hurt the holiday industry.
Some of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations already levy their own nightly tourist taxes to limit ‘overtourism’.
There is a row about an EU tourist tax that is getting bigger and bigger. Under the EU plan, all non-EU tourists must pay €7 for visa-free entry – and this must be renewed every three years.
The rate, called the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), will be applied to travelers visiting the Schengen area from November.
Visitors to Venice already pay an overnight fee of up to €5, with a new day fee for visitors costing up to €10 to enter the city
A tourist tax is already in place in Barcelona, the Catalan capital, but it will become more expensive this year
The ETIAS levy is in addition to the local tourist tax in the country or region of visit.
It gives people visa-free access for up to 90 days, during which visitors are not allowed to work or study, but can “engage in business and tourism activities,” according to the Schengen visa info website.
The ETIAS is valid for a maximum of three years and counts for multiple entries. Those under 18 and over 70 are exempt from the fee.
The website states that visitors can “enter the Schengen member states as many times as you like, as long as your ETIAS is valid and you have not stayed more than 90 days in any 180-day period.”
In addition to the levy, holidaymakers could soon face significant additional costs per night, particularly in Venice, where a proposed tax would cost day visitors €3 to €10 to enter the city.
But this tax has been postponed several times, most recently in December 2022, in part due to protests from locals who fear it will drive tourists elsewhere.
The city already charges an overnight tax for visitors of between €1 and €5 per night.
The new daily rate has been postponed until at least June 2023.
A growing number of Spanish regions also charge for each night of hotel accommodation.
Valencia will introduce a completely new tourist tax at the end of this year.
Tourists will have to pay 50 cents to €2 depending on the type of accommodation they use, from camping to hotels.
The Spanish city of Valencia will introduce tourist tax for visitors in 2023
It is hoped visitor charges will prevent ‘overtourism’, but locals fear it will hurt the economy
A tourist tax is already in place in Barcelona, the Catalan capital, but it will be increased this year.
The tax, first introduced in 2012, means tourists must pay both the regional tourist tax and a city surcharge.
Catalonia charges up to €3.25 per night, depending on accommodation type, recent figures show, while Barcelona’s rate will rise to €2.75 from April, with a second increase in April 2024 to €3.25.
Other cities across Europe already have a night charge on visitors. In Brussels, holidaymakers pay about €7.50 per night, per room.
Prague, German cities such as Berlin and Hamburg, Budapest and Amsterdam are among the charging points.
In other countries, such as France, the tax is levied on holidaymakers regardless of location.
In the vast majority of cases, the fees are applied automatically and are included in the accommodation booking cost.
It comes after the Costa del Sol issued a blistering ‘leave tourism alone’ message this week as fears grow over the new EU-wide tourist tax.
Tourism leaders have said they are completely against the idea that Britons should pay an extra €7 (£6.20) every time they want to holiday in Spain.
In a clear message to the EU, one of the Costa del Sol’s leading politicians has said she should stop interfering and leave Spain to manage its own tourism affairs.
Earlier this week, the Mesa del Turismo tourism organization issued an urgent warning about the loss of millions of Britons if the European Union introduces a new tourist tax later this year.
The group says it could be a major problem for Spain and describes the possible new charge as a “threat”.
During the general meeting, the group expressed its concern about the introduction of the new tourist tax for non-EU visitors entering the Schengen area.
In a statement on Monday, the board said: “(We are) particularly concerned about the impact of this EU tax on UK tourism, our main issuing market with 18 million arrivals in 2019.
“It must also be taken into account that the measure – if it goes ahead – will come on top of the rest of the local taxes that tourists already pay to visit certain European cities.”
Francisco Salado, president of the provincial council of Malaga, also spoke out against the EU tax.
‘Leave tourism alone!’ he told a press conference.
‘Tourism works very well on its own through the sector and the brokers involved such as Turismo Costa del Sol and Turismo Andaluz.’
Speaking to journalists, he said that tourism is the economic engine of Malaga and Andalusia and criticized the future tax.
He added, “Stop inventing. Every time we introduce a product, we do it because we are improving tourism quality, and in the end an imposition does not improve quality.
“What it does is add a cost to the final product and make us less competitive.
‘The EU is always thinking about how it can impose new taxes on the municipalities.
‘They make laws there and we, the municipal authorities and the citizens, pay. I think it is a lack of loyalty that local authorities are not involved in making these decisions.’
The president of Malaga’s provincial council, pictured, has spoken out against the tax
The Costa del Sol has a sizzling ‘leave tourism alone!’ message as fears grow over a new EU tourist tax (file photo: aerial view of Costa del Sol, Benalmadena, Malaga, Spain)
Another concern raised by the Mesa earlier this week concerned Lufthansa’s plan to convert Rome Fiumicino Airport into its new hub for intercontinental routes to Asia, the Americas and Africa.
The group said: “This move would undermine the Madrid Barajas hub, which currently concentrates air traffic on Latin America and would consequently reduce the relevance of the Spanish brand.”
The ETIAS will apply to visitors from visitors from 63 countries – including Great Britain – outside the European Union. It was first confirmed by the EU in August 2021.
The scheme will be similar to the US Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) system, which allows citizens of 40 countries to stay visa-free for 90 days.
Like the US system, the ETIAS gives people visa-free entry for up to 90 days, during which visitors are not allowed to work or study, but can “engage in business and tourism activities.” according to the Schengen visa info website.
The EU version is valid for up to three years and counts for multiple entries. Those under 18 and over 70 are exempt from the fee.
The website states that visitors can “enter the Schengen member states as many times as you like, as long as your ETIAS is valid and you have not stayed more than 90 days in any 180-day period.”
