Barcelona's increased tourist tax: Where else to pay entry in 2024?

Many tourist sites around the world suffer from what is called over-tourism. More than once we hear criticism about the negative effects of too many tourists in busy cities and their damage to the lifestyle of the residents, the abundance of garbage and the increase in real estate prices. Because of this, the most popular destinations in the world, such as Venice, Barcelona and New Zealand, do everything they can to maintain a number Controlled visitors.

One of the solutions that destinations use is tourist taxes, this is in addition to the normal expenses they have to pay such as flight, accommodation and food. Tourist tax is not a new thing, which we sometimes ignore because it is embodied in the plane ticket or in the taxes that sneak up on us when we receive the bill at the hotel.

One of the destinations that recently made headlines due to the increase in the tourist tax is Barcelona, which decided to raise the tax again for 2024, after only in 2022, the city authorities announced that it would be raised. In fact, since 2012, visitors have been forced to pay a tourist tax, a tax that rose in April 2023 to €2.75. Now, we open April with another increase to €3.25. Who does the tax apply to? For every visitor to an official tourist accommodation.

Barcelona is not alone

Portimao Portugal has also decided to collect a tourist tax from March 2024. The port city in the Algarve of Portugal will change the tax from high season to low, setting it at €2 per night from April to October and €1 per night from November to March.

Olhao, a Portuguese fishing town popular with tourists, also started charging €2 a night between April and October. However, between November and March, the tax is reduced to €1. Children under the age of 16 do not pay, with the maximum payable being €10. In this case the municipality announced that the fees will help minimize the impact of tourism on the cities in the Algarve.

Bali, known for its beautiful beaches and islands, suffers from over-tourism. Because of this, since February 14, each entry will be accompanied by a fee of approximately 8 euros, which will be collected at Ngurah Rai International Airport. Here, too, the tax should be used for projects related to protecting the environment.

Venice, after years of debate, the famous city of canals will also charge an entrance fee. In this case, visitors will have to pay a €5 fee to enter on weekends and peak days and other days between April and mid-July. The tax will be in effect during peak hours (8:30-16:00), so if you arrive after these hours you will not have to pay. Here it is meant that the daily entrance fees will minimize the queues and encourage long visits and not day stops.

The European cities that have always taken tax

As mentioned, the new countries join countries that already charge tourist fees to enter them, such as Austria, where an accommodation tax is paid, amounting to about 3 percent on the hotel bill per person.

Even in Belgium, the tourist tax applies to the accommodation, when the payment is sometimes included in the room price or comes separately, so you should check before you book. In general, the tax is usually €7.50.

Another country that takes a tourist tax on accommodation is Bulgaria. The tax here is about 1.50 euros.

Croatia increased its tourist tax in 2019, with the higher rate only valid during the summer season. So visitors will pay1 about 1.5 euro per person per night.

Czech Republic - here the tourist tax will be valid if you land in Prague. The tax is per night per person and will cost a little less than one euro.

In France you will pay a tax that is added to the hotel bill and varies depending on the city where you are. In fact, ahead of the 2024 Olympics, the tourist tax on hotel rooms has increased by 200 percent, as early as January 2024, and in some cases can reach 15 euros per night.

In Germany, in some cities you will pay a commission of about 5 percent of the amount of the hotel bill, and in Greece the tax depends on the number of stars of the hotel and can reach up to 4 euros per room.

Visitors to Budapest, Hungary, will pay an extra 4 percent each night on the room price. In Italy the tax varies depending on the city you are staying in and ranges from one euro to seven euros.