Tourist Taxes - a good or a bad thing?

Having recently returned from our lovely holiday in Greece, there was one issue that really grabbed my attention as we checked out of our two hotels. We were asked to pay a City Tax by both our hotels. So, for my latest blog, I thought I would veer off my normal path, and rather than writing about the specifics of our last holiday, I decided to look at this aspect of travel that affects nearly every holiday destination or city – “Tourist Taxes” or “Resort Fees”. It’s a thorny topic

Earlier this year, Greece introduced higher levels of local taxes on hotel stays, and it is quite a leap. For a 4* hotel you are now charged 7 Euros a night; for a 5* hotel this is 10 Euros a night. This meant for our 11-night hotel stays we had to pay an additional 92 Euros! Luckily, this did not come as a surprise as I was aware of this before we travelled, and always make sure that my clients who are staying in Europe are also aware of these extra charges for their hotel stays.

It’s not just Greece of course. The same sort of fees are charged in Spain, Italy, France and numerous cities all over Europe, and indeed the world. Here are some examples of countries and cities that are charging now:

Croatia – 1 Euro per day France – from 0.65 Euros to 14.95 Euros per day Germany – 5% of accommodation bill Italy – 1 – 7 Euros per day Spain – From 0.25 – 3.25 Euros per day Venice – 5.2 euros for day visitors Vienna – typically 3.2% on your accommodation bill

But what are these taxes charged for, and where do they get used?

The original principal of the tax was to ensure that tourism would benefit the local economy and community. The money is intended to be used to address the negative impact of too many tourists. Venice is a great example of this, or if you have seen recent social media images of the Trevi Fountain in Rome, which look seriously overcrowded at times.

In Iceland, the tourist tax money has been used to fund major projects to improve the tourist’s experiences in their country, for example, they have developed a whale-watching infrastructure and added better car parking facilities for their major sights. In faraway destinations, such as Bali in Asia, the income helps the resorts deal with waste management.

These can be seen as positive aspects of these charges, but there is also a negative angle to consider, as the heavy levels of taxes may deter visitors and can be used to keep the numbers down – almost a message of “stay away from our city”. Local tourism-related businesses say keeping people away has a detrimental affect of their business income. Even Venetians feel that the 5 Euro day-tripper fees that are levied at kiosks on the edge of the city have turned their home in to a ‘floating Disneyland’.

The Tourist Taxes are seen as merely papering over the cracks of more serous issues in the destinations where they are applied. Cities and countries need further action on top of this, such as reducing the number of cruise ships allowed to dock in a port at any one time or limiting the number of street tables at cafes in peak periods. Such tactics employed in Dubrovnik have led to a more enjoyable visitor experience, so this practice needs more widespread use.

There are other arguments against these taxes of course. Tourists will claim that merely being in the destination that they are contributing to the local economy already and feel that the extra taxes are unfair. However, ‘more’ does not necessarily mean ‘better’, and we must remember we are enjoying ‘our holidays’ in other people’s ‘homes’, and their environment needs protecting.

In my opinion, I think that these tourism taxes are a good thing, and are here to stay, but there needs to be more transparency as to where these taxes are going to be spent. There is even a recent survey focussed on visitors to the Puglia region of Italy that found that visitors were willing to pay MORE if it was felt that the funds were going to protect and enhance the local natural environment.

As time goes by, more destinations are going to adopt this practice to counteract the negative impacts on their environments and attempt to control the number of visitors. I also do not feel that paying these taxes will put most people off going on holiday or visiting these lovely places. I, for one, bear no grudge towards paying that Tourist Tax in Greece as I want to see this country bounce back from a terrible time over the last couple of decades, and maintain itself as a beautiful country to visit

So don’t be surprised when you asked to pay this local additional expense. Just know it’s all done with the best intention and aims to keep the holiday industry sustainable