Tag Archives: overtourism

Amsterdam raises tourist taxes and is now the highest in Europe

Planning a trip to Amsterdam? Travelers will need to budget a little more for accommodations starting January 2020.

By: Heather Newgen | Twitter: @hnvoluntourist

In an effort to combat overtourism, Amsterdam is raising the tourist tax. The Dutch capital will add a fee of €3 per person , which averages to about US$3 — per night for hotel stays.

That’s in addition to the 7% of the room rate it currently charges.

Children under the age of 16 are exempt from the new Amsterdam levy, and campsites will charge €1 per adult. Airbnb and rental properties are also getting a price hike. The existing tax will be raised to 10% of your rental.

Tim Fairhurst, director of policy for the ETOA (European Tourism Association), told CNN: “It will likely make Amsterdam’s the highest overnight tax in Europe, on average.”

The city has been severely impacted by mobs of overzealous tourists and the Netherlands is taking action.

Netherlands tourist officials recently took the bold decision to stop advertising the country as a tourist destination. Their “Perspective 2030″ report revealed that the priority will now be on “destination management” rather than “destination promotion.”

18 million annual visitors travel to the Amsterdam and authorities have taken additional measures such taking down the “iamsterdam” sign — a former selfie spot — outside the Rijksmuseum in December 2018 and announcing a ban of “disrespectful” tours of the popular tourist drawn red light district in March 2019.

CNN reports a spokesperson for Amsterdam city council denied that the raised taxes were planned to deter tourists, calling it a point of “principle” to make visitors pay their way in the city.

“Visitors will contribute more to the high costs of keeping the city safe and clean, and of keeping the public space like pavements, quays, bridges and streets, in a good state,” the spokesperson said.

Venice is another European city that is fighting overtourism and has recently announced its own plans to charge tourists a day fee to enter the popular destination.

In comparison, the tourist tax for Paris, ranges anywhere from €0.20 (for 1- and 2-star campsites) to €4 (for palaces) per person, per night. Berlin charges a 5% tourist tax and Rome currently has the highest fixed price tax in Europe, at €7 per person per night in a five star hotel.

Venice, Italy to Charge Tourists a Fee to Enter the City

Planning a day trip to Venice, Italy? Starting in May you’ll have to pay an entrance fee in an effort to combat overtourism.

By: Heather Newgen | Twitter: @hnvoluntourist

As if visiting the historical Italian city of Venice wasn’t expensive enough, it’s now about to get pricier for certain tourists. Anyone who is day-tripping it to Venice will have to pay up to $11.00 officials confirm. The city’s mayor Luigi Brugnaro tweeted an announcement earlier this year stating there would be a tax for day travelers and now we know the details.

Conde Nast Traveler reports, “Starting this May, all day-trippers will have to pay €3 ($3.40) for access to the floating city, and in 2020, the fee will begin fluctuating between €3, €6 ($6.80), and €10 depending on the time of year and number of visitors. (The city sees around 24 million tourists who visit just for the day, without spending a night within the city center, each year.) All that revenue will be used to clean and maintain the city’s lagoons and public spaces, and to supplement more security officers.”

While local officials are in favor of the new tax law, collecting the fee could be rather challenging. Tourists can enter Venice by car, ship, train, bus, or plane.

The Daily Beast writes, “Last May, the Venice city council introduced turnstiles into the old city from the main square used by the hordes of cruise-ship passengers who are seen to be the most problematic tourists—and primary target of the new tax—to the city. The turnstiles are intended to ebb the flow of people into the city when it is impossible to move or when the number of people poses a security risk. The city can close the turnstiles and only allow citizens and those staying at hotels into the city. Those opposed to the turnstiles argued that it was one step closer to turning the canal city into a Disneyland. The new entrance fee will likely do nothing to calm those fears.”

Residents, tourists staying the night, employees who commute into the city for work, and students studying in Venice will be exempt from new tax.

Leave a comment