Here's Where Tourist Taxes Are Surging Around the World

If you love to travel, chances are you love international travel even more than its domestic counterpart, and as you might've guessed, you're not alone.

With travel in full bloom since the peak pandemic days, popular cities and destinations have reported sky-high tourism numbers in the past two years. While that is, on one hand, an excellent thing for a city's local economy and its tourism industry, it can also pose a threat to the city itself. That threat has a name, and it's overtourism, which can lead to damage to the environment as well as a city's culture and heritage, not to mention the alienation of local residents, a poor tourist experience, and overloaded infrastructure, among other challenges.

To curb the phenomenon and help make the tourism industry more sustainable, many cities across the globe have opted for a monetary solution through a tourist tax—or, if one already existed, they increased the fee of it. Other cities, like Como, Italy, haven't laid out an exact plan for a tourist tax but have announced that one is in the works.

This year, many bucket-list destinations made headlines for introducing or renewing their tourist fees, while others are still mulling it all over. To help you better plan your next vacation abroad (especially from a financial standpoint), we put together a handy guide featuring all the hottest destinations that have recently added new tourist fees or increased the preexisting ones.

The latest addition to this list is New Zealand. Starting from October 1, the country's tourist tax,j which was already in place, will become almost three times more expensive. According to authorities, the move is both an effort to help protect New Zealand's natural environment and a way to improve public services across the country. 

Greece is also considering implementing specific tourist taxes on selected areas. As France24 reports, the country is now looking to implement €20 (approximately $22) fees for cruise passengers docking off at Santorini and Mykonos. According to Greece's Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the two destinations have a problem with overtourism, which is partially due to the many cruises visiting these areas. For now, however, there is no set date for implementing these cruise-focused tourist fees.

This guide will be updated based on any new tourist fee plans announced.

When: Already in place
New tourist tax cost: 12.5% of overnight stay (compared to previous 7%); for cruises, tourist tax is €11 (approximately $12) per person per day (compared to previous €8 (approximately $9)

When: Already in place
New tourist tax cost: 150,000 IDR (approximately $10) per person

When: Already in place (started on April 1)
New tourist tax cost: €4 starting in October (about $4.30 per person per night only paid for the first seven consecutive days; compared to the previous €2.75 per night, which is about $3; and the current €3.25, which is about $3.50)

When: Already in place (started on January 1)
New tourist tax cost: 333 ISK (approximately $2.40) per overnight stay; for cruises, 1000 ISK (approximately $7.20) per overnight stay

When: Already in place (started on April 1, 2023)
New tourist tax cost: £1 (approximately $1.25) per room per night

When: Starting from October 1, 2024
New tourist tax cost: NZ$100 (approximately $62) compared to the previous NZ$35 (approximately $22)

When: Already in place (started in June 2023)
New tourist tax cost: €2 (approximately $2.1) per night during high season (April to October) and €1 (approximately $1) during the rest of the year (November to March) for a maximum of five nights in a row

When: Already in place (started in 2023)
New tourist tax cost: one-time fees of 300 baht (approximately $9) if arriving by air and 150 baht (approximately $4) if arriving by land or water

When: Not yet defined, expected in 2024
New tourist tax cost: €2 (approximately $2.1) compared to the previous €0.50 (approximately $0.53)

When: Already in place (on peak weekends and other days between April and mid-July for a total of 29 days and only during peak hours from 8:30 am until 4 pm)
New tourist tax cost: €5 (approximately $5.4) for daily visitors (overnight travelers and locals are exempt)

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