With a new tourist tax in Bali, hotel taxes increasing in Amsterdam and Paris and tougher restrictions on public drinking in Milan and Mallorca, leaders of many destinations are taking measures to curb crowds, or at least to generate more revenue from them, ahead of the summer travel season.
All of this might create headaches for travelers, but in most cases the new fees and taxes represent just a small part of the overall cost of a trip. “The goal is to make sure tourism works smoothly for both tourists and locals,” said Megan Eppler Wood, managing director of Cornell University's Sustainable Tourism Asset Management Program.
“All tourism relies on beautiful natural and cultural resources and to remain a viable tourist destination these resources must be protected or they will deteriorate,” Eppler Wood said.
In some areas, proposed new fees or visitor rules have sparked opposition from residents who worry they will drive away the tourists who support the local economy. But destinations need to find ways to counter what Eppler Wood calls the “invisible burdens of tourism” — the strain on local infrastructure, public facilities and housing, the carbon footprint of tourists and all the other problems they impose on residents' daily lives.
“If you put too much pressure on the place, the people who live there will be unhappy and it will look less good on tourists,” Eppler-Wood says. “The longer we wait, the more expensive it will be to restore.”
Here we look at the new measures travellers can expect this summer and those that may be introduced in the future.
New admission fee
Since February, tourists to the Indonesian island of Bali have been asked to pay a tax of 150,000 Indonesian rupiah (about $9.40) per visit. The revenue goes towards protecting the island's cultural and natural heritage, where tourism has caused major problems with litter, water supplies and overcrowding. Tourists are encouraged to pay the new fee online before they depart, but can also pay upon arrival at the airport.
Starting August 1, most foreign visitors to the Galapagos Islands, which attracted a record 330,000 tourists last year, will have to pay double the current entrance fee to $200. The money raised will be used to support conservation efforts, improve infrastructure and fund community programs.
Tom O'Hara, a spokesman for the Galapagos Conservation Trust, said the change marks the first increase in entrance fees since they were introduced in 1998. O'Hara noted that the increase came a year after the UNESCO World Heritage Committee called on the Ecuadorian government to work toward a “zero growth model” for tourism in the Galapagos Islands.
“This is a pretty complicated issue,” O'Hara said, noting that raising fees is seen as “part of the solution to overtourism,” but added that “everyone is trying to reassure the local tourism industry that this isn't going to kill tourism on the island.”
In April, Venice began charging day-trippers a 5 euro (about $5.40) fee on peak days, aiming to achieve a “new balance between tourists and residents.”
But the new Venice entrance fee has drawn criticism from residents. “This project is a disaster for us. We are a city, not a park,” said Matteo Secchi, president of the Venice residents association Venessia.com. Secchi said a public information campaign would have been more effective.
The possibility of a new tourism fee has also drawn local opposition in Hawaii, where Governor Josh Green has proposed imposing a “climate impact fee” on tourists visiting the state. The bill was defeated in a recent session of the state legislature, but Governor Green continues to call on tourists to help fund the state's preparations for future climate shocks.
“We've got to grab this tiger by the tail,” he told reporters in May, adding that $25 per visitor could raise $250 million a year that the state could use to prevent climate disasters, control erosion, strengthen infrastructure and protect parks.
Hotel prices and other taxes will increase
Hotel taxes, also known as lodging taxes, are widely implemented in the United States and Europe and were on the rise in the decade prior to the pandemic. With tourism recovering to pre-pandemic levels, many destinations are increasing or adjusting taxes to capture more revenue.
Like Hawaii, Greece, which was hit by severe wildfires last summer, is also trying to prepare for climate disasters, and the government wants to encourage tourists to cover the costs. Greece is calling the tax the Climate Emergency Fee, which is collected by accommodations. The tax is higher from March to October, capped at 10 euros per night for five-star hotels, and lower from November to February, and for lower-star hotels. The fee replaces a previous hotel tax that ranged from 0.50 to 4 euros per night.
In Amsterdam, hotel taxes, already one of the highest in Europe, increased from 7% to 12.5% ​​from January 1. The city council also increased taxes on cruise ship passengers from 11 euros to 14 euros per person per night.
Barcelona's hotel tax also increased this year, to 3.25 euros per night, the latest step in a gradual increase that began before the pandemic. A Barcelona city hall spokesman said further increases would target tourist apartment rentals and short-stay cruise ships, which contribute little to the city's revenue. He also noted that revenue from the tourism tax is used to install solar panels and air conditioning in Barcelona's public schools, among other things.
Ahead of this summer's Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, legislators in the ÃŽle-de-France region have introduced a new tax on top of the regular hotel tax. The new tax, which helps fund the region's public transport, will result in guests staying in five-star hotels paying a total of 10.73 euros per night, while guests staying in two-star hotels will pay 3.25 euros per night.
Although the measure was adopted by the local authorities, it was not supported by the Paris city authorities. A Paris City Hall spokesman criticized the move as a “democratic power grab” that “will bring no benefits to the city of Paris.” He noted that despite the money from the new tax, the local authorities had already increased the price of public transport tickets in the city during the Olympics, which has unsatisfied many Parisians.
Introducing new rules
In other tourist destinations, the focus is on curbing activities that pollute the local environment or undermine the quality of life of residents.
In Japan, Mount Fuji officials have imposed a daily limit of 4,000 climbers and a new fee of 2,000 yen (about $13) to access the iconic peak. Authorities have closed several paths to tourists following complaints that the area, home to the city's red-light district, was suffering from overcrowding.
“From April onwards, we plan to ask tourists to refrain from entering the narrow private roads,” Ota Isoo, a leading member of the residents' association, told AFP in March. “We don't want to do it, but we are in a desperate situation.”
A Kyoto City Tourism Bureau spokesman said the road closures were a “local initiative”, adding that “neither the city nor the Kyoto Tourism Association are aware of any further details beyond what has been reported in the media”.
In Milan, rowdy visitor behavior is the subject of new restrictions: In some areas, city leaders have banned outdoor seating after 12:30 a.m. on weekdays and 1:30 a.m. on weekends after complaints from residents, and also restricted late-night sales of takeaway food and drink.
And in parts of the Balearic islands of Mallorca and Ibiza that are swarming with drunk tourists, the government has banned late-night alcohol sales and drinking on the streets. The same areas have also imposed new restrictions on party boats.
“Tourism has negative externalities that must be managed and minimized,” Balearic Islands President Margare Proens told a local rally this month, according to the Mallorca Daily Bulletin. She said local tourism “cannot continue to expand.”
Paige McClanahan, a regular contributor to the Travel section, is the author of “The New Tourist: Waking Up to the Power and Perils of Travel,” due to be published by Scribner on June 18.