From Spain To Italy: Why Many European Countries Are Levying Taxes & Fines On Tourists

Are you planning a vacation to Europe? If yes, then you might need to rethink it. Why, you may ask? Well, many European countries are levying additional taxes and fines on tourists to tackle ¡®over tourism¡¯ at their hotspots.

'Please Don't Come'

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Fed up with multiple issues such as housing shortages, traffic, noise, pollution, and litter, many popular destinations in Europe are swapping their ¡®come-to-us¡¯ tourism campaigns with ¡®please don't come¡¯ anti-tourism strategies to discourage visitors.

Overcrowded by tourists, a number of the most iconic destinations in European countries have become unlivable for local residents and overcrowded, unsafe, and uncomfortable for visitors. The beauty, serenity, and simplicity of many of the most bucolic and sought-after destinations in Europe can¡¯t survive millions of annual arrivals.

"Overtourism is already so acute that popular destinations are now doing the unthinkable and actively trying to dissuade or block arrivals," as per The Guardian. "The world¡¯s most perfect places are being turned into backdrops for our tourist selfies. Mass tourism is turning destinations into the opposite of what they once were."

Around the continent, but especially among the most popular cities and towns, locals say they can¡¯t take more of the destructive effects of overtourism.

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What European Countries Are Doing To Tackle Tourism

1.Italy

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The Italian city of Venice, for example, is so overwhelmed by the number of visitors that it has introduced an entrance fee ranging from €3 to €10 to access the city and its islands. To manage the crowds, Greece has implemented a time-slot system for visitors to the Acropolis, as per a Forbes report.

Nor are the hordes a treat for tourists themselves, trapped in long queues just to get onto footpaths, buy a drink, enter a restaurant, or board a train, plane, or bus. Natural or man-made wonders, and even churches, have been monetized.

Even the World Tourism Organization predicts that by the end of this decade, the flow of international tourists will surpass an astounding 2 billion. Local and national governments have been under pressure to find solutions to the mass tourism boom, and some have recently put restrictions in place.

Also, Italy, which since 2021 has banned large cruise ships in Venice¡¯s historic lagoon, has now enforced measures in Rome to restrict access to the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. It also started charging entry fees to visit the Pantheon in an effort to control the crowds and protect the famous architectural marvel.

Even the United Nations¡¯ cultural agency recently warned about the dangers the city of Venice is facing because of mass tourism and climate change and recommended including it in its World Heritage in Danger list.

Since June, the Italian city of Florence has banned new short-term private vacation rentals in its historic centre, which is a UNSECO protected heritage site.

In Portofino, one of the country¡¯s most charming seaside towns in the Italian Riviera, the local government introduced legislation to dissuade tourists from lingering for selfies in "no-waiting zones," which include the most photogenic hotspots. Fines run as high as €275, as per a BBC report.

One beach in Eraclea (Venice) has even banned the building of sandcastles ¡ª maximum fine €250 ¡ª because they¡¯re considered "unnecessary obstructions."

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2.Netherlands

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The capital city of the Netherlands, Amsterdam, has voted to ban cruise ships from entering its main port. That comes amid a wider crackdown that city officials call a "discouragement campaign," and that, among other measures, bans outdoor marijuana smoking in the red-light district, while official digital and poster campaigns target young British men, encouraging them to ¡°stay away.¡±

The measures, as mayor Femke Halsema has reportedly explained, are intended to discourage visitors from taking a ¡°vacation from morals,¡± and control the tourist influx and the disruption they bring to the beautiful city with its picturesque architecture, incomparable museums, peaceful canals, and also its red light district and coffee shops that sell marijuana.

With fewer than one million inhabitants, Amsterdam attracts more than one million tourists on average per month.

Despite controversy around the banning of cruise ships, the government explained that the giant vessels in the city centre "do not fit in with the task of combating mass tourism and are not in line with the sustainable ambitions of the city."

3.France

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In the city of Nice, on the French Riviera, with the deep blue waters of the Cote d'Azur at its feet, unusual pieces of street art were recently installed at places highly frequented by tourists: giant rat traps ¡°to eradicate and eliminate the tourist pest¡± with a giant ice cream as bait. ¡°To curb mass tourism, street artist ¡®TooLate¡¯ offers a radical solution¡±, as per the report.

The giant traps are a humorous approach but also a clear display of the city¡¯s feelings towards excessive tourism.

At the government level, a plan "to better regulate tourist flows and support local authorities experiencing surges in visitor numbers" was unveiled last month. Alliance France Tourisme, which brings together companies in the sector, pointed to ¡®France's belated awareness¡¯, saying that the country was now one of the destinations condemned to ¡®over-tourism.¡¯

In addition to pooling information through a digital platform on best practises and regulations, a guide, and an observatory, the government will launch a €1 million campaign in March 2024 to encourage domestic and foreign tourists "to adapt their destination choices and schedules."

4.Spain

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One of the most popular pilgrimage destinations, the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, is planning to launch a tourist tax as a way to combat overtourism. "With the city receiving more than 3 lakh tourists as well as pilgrims each year, the authorities no longer want Santiago de Compostela to be a ¡®theme park¡¯," Schengenvisa reports.

Local officials are also planning to set limits on the number of tourists in the city¡¯s historic centre.

Mallorca, which after overcrowded Ibiza is the hottest spot of the Balearic islands, is becoming a hotbed of anti-tourist protest. Even in Barcelona, a recent local graffiti campaign now misdirects tourists away from the crowded Gaudi-designed Park Guell.

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5.Portugal

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In Portugal, playing loud music at many of the most popular beaches can be punished with fines ranging from €200 to €36,000. The Algarve coast alone, for example, sees more than one million mainly British tourists during the peak season. The fines range between €200 and €4,000 for individual and from €2,000 to €36,000 for groups.

The list of bans and restrictions in Portugal that travellers may face at beaches include unauthorised ball games, camping outside campsites, fishing in bathing areas and overflight by aircraft below 1,000 feet, except for those intended for surveillance or rescue operations.

6.Croatia

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As part of a "Respect the City" campaign, the ultra-popular city of Dubrovnik has initiated a luggage drop-off system to minimise the noise of wheeled suitcases on the cobbled streets of the picture-book city centre. According to SchengenVisaInfo, "starting in November, compulsory lockers will be put in place by the municipality at several points in this city where it will be banned to travel with luggage."

The new measures to control overtourism in Croatia also include bans on sleeping in public areas and urinating in public spaces; climbing on top of monuments; drunken behaviour; drinking alcohol near protected public spaces, including schools; and drug-related offences, all of which are punishable with high fines and jail sentences.

Dubrovnik has already recorded 289,000 arrivals and 763,500 overnight stays since the beginning of this year.

Some European Countries Increasing Tax On Flights To Make Train Travel Lucrative

A recent report by Euronews mentioned that France will soon increase taxes on flights to invest more in its railways, the country¡¯s Transport Minister Cl¨¦ment Beaune announced last week.

The move aims to make train travel more appealing by closing the price gap between airline tickets and train tickets.

¡°Many people are shocked by the fact that it¡¯s often cheaper to take a flight than a train,¡± he said. It¡¯s a similar picture across the continent. Last month Greenpeace released an analysis showing that taking a train is on average double the cost of flying.

The report compared the costs of flight and train tickets on 112 routes in Europe. It found that they are almost always cheaper by plane.

But why are planes cheaper than trains? As per the report, one of the main reasons for the disparity is the lower taxes that the aviation industry benefits from. That is perhaps why some countries are taking steps to tax them more.

But as expected, this move has unsurprisingly not gone down well with the aviation industry. In response to the move by France, the largest EU airline association Airlines for Europe said that France already imposes some of the EU's steepest flight taxes. Hiking them further will not guarantee more funding for the de-carbonisation of aviation or further rail investments.

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