Tourism taxes are now a common feature of travel, especially across Europe, where policies vary widely not just between countries, but from city to city. Typically added to hotel bills or collected on arrival, these fees are used to manage tourism’s impact and fund local services.[1]
In this article, we look at which countries charge a tourist tax, how much it costs, and whether it varies between cities.
Key statistics
- Tourist taxes apply across 24 countries, including major destinations like France, Italy, the USA, and the UAE – with more countries such as Scotland preparing to introduce them in 2026.
- Some of the highest tourist taxes in the world are charged by the USA, with Los Angeles charging 15% of your total booking.
- Tourist taxes are charged in different ways, with per person, per night, a percentage of the accommodation booking, or a one-off payment on arrival.
- The most expensive tourist taxes in Europe are in Amsterdam, Netherlands (12.5% of your booking) and Athens, Greece (up to €15 per night in 5-star hotels).
- At the other end of the scale, countries such as Argentina, the Czech Republic, and Hungary charge under €2.50 per person, per night.
- In Greece, 5-star guests pay up to €15 per night, while budget travellers in 1-2-star hotels pay just €2. Charges apply seasonally from April to October.
- Italy’s tourist tax prices vary by city with Rome charging up to €10 for 5-star hotels, and cities such as Florence, Venice, and Milan all having their own tiered pricing.
- Tourist taxes date back to Austria in 1842, followed by France in 1910 and Switzerland in 1948.
What is the tourist tax and why is it charged?
A tourist tax is a fee charged to visitors by a city, region, or country, often added to accommodation bills. These taxes are used to manage the impact of tourism by supporting local infrastructure, sustainability efforts, or the upkeep of cultural landmarks.[1]
In many cases, tourist taxes are introduced as a response to overtourism, when high visitor numbers put pressure on a destination’s environment, resources, or community. This can lead to overcrowding, damage to natural or historic sites, and a lower quality of life for local residents. Overcrowding was one of the complaints that cropped up during the most anxious cities study. Tourist taxes aim to help offset these effects while still allowing destinations to benefit economically from tourism.[2]
Which countries charge a tourist tax?
Tourist taxes are now applied in destinations across Europe and beyond. While the specifics vary by country and often by city.
The following regions currently impose some form of overnight or entry fee:[3][4]
- Argentina
- Austria
- Belgium
- Canada
- Czech Republic
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- Indonesia
- Italy
- Japan
- Lithuania
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- Morocco
- Netherlands
- Portugal
- Spain
- Switzerland
- Turkey
- UAE
- USA
Tourist tax costs by country
Tourist tax costs can vary significantly depending on where you travel. Some destinations charge a flat rate per person, others add a percentage to your hotel bill, and many apply seasonal or star-based pricing structures.
Some of the highest charges are found in cities like Amsterdam in the Netherlands, which adds 12.5% to the total cost of your booking, and Athens in Greece, where per-night fees can reach €15.
Here are some of the most expensive countries for tourist tax:[3]
- Netherlands: 12.5% of total booking
- USA: Up to 15.5% of total booking (depending on city and state)
- Germany: 7.5% of total booking in cities like Berlin
- Italy: Up to €10 per person, per night (depending on city and hotel rating)
- Greece: Up to €15 per night during peak season for 5-star accommodation
The least expensive countries for tourist tax (excluding those without charges):[3]
- Czech Republic: Approx. €1.97 (50 CZK) per person, per night in Prague
- Argentina: Approx. €1.32 ($1.50 USD) per person, per night in Buenos Aires
- Hungary: Approx. €2.48 (1000 HUF) per person, per night in Budapest
- Lithuania: €2 per person, per night
- Portugal: €2-€4 per person, per night
This variation makes it difficult to compare countries directly. In places such as France and Italy, costs increase with the star rating of your accommodation, meaning the nightly price can rise significantly for those staying in higher-end hotels.
Tourist tax by city
While most tourist taxes are applied at the national or regional level, the actual rules often vary from city to city.
Many countries let individual municipalities set their own rates, which can lead to large differences even within the same country. For example, rates in Venice differ from those in Rome, and Barcelona’s policy is separate from the Balearic Islands.
| City | Country | Tourist Tax Cost (€) | Tax information |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buenos Aires | Argentina | €1.30 (1.50 USD) | Charges per person, per night |
| Vienna | Austria | 3.2% | Charges percentage of total booking |
| Brussels | Belgium | €4.24 | Charges per room per night |
| Vancouver | Canada | 3% | Charges percentage of total booking |
| Toronto | Canada | 6% | Charges percentage of total booking |
| Montreal | Canada | 3.5% | Charges percentage of room rate (only when over $30) |
| Prague | Czech Republic | €2.02 (50 CZK) | Charges per person per night |
| Paris | France | €2.60-€11.38 | Cost varies depending on the star of accommodation |
| Nice | France | €2.60-€11.38 | Cost varies depending on the star of accommodation |
| Marne-La-Vallée | France | €2.60-€11.38 | Cost varies depending on the star of accommodation |
| Frankfurt am Main | Germany | €2 | Charges per person, per night |
| Berlin | Germany | 7.5% | Charges percentage of total booking |
| Athens | Greece | €2-€15 | Charges depending on accommodation type or star rating |
| Rhodes | Greece | €2-€15 | Charges depending on accommodation type or star rating |
| Heraklion | Greece | €2-€15 | Charges depending on accommodation type or star rating |
| Thessaloniki | Greece | €2-€15 | Charges depending on accommodation type or star rating |
| Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 3% | Charges percentage of total booking |
| Budapest | Hungary | €2.48 (1000 HUF) | Charges per person per night |
| Denpasar | Indonesia | €8.08 (150,000 IDR) | One-off payment |
| Rome | Italy | €4-€10 | Charges depending on accommodation type or star rating |
| Florence | Italy | €3.50-€8 | Charges depending on accommodation type or star rating |
| Verona | Italy | €1-€5 | Charges depending on accommodation type or star rating |
| Milan | Italy | €1.80-€7 | Charges depending on accommodation type or star rating |
| Venice | Italy | €1-€7 | Charges depending on accommodation type or star rating (from February to December) |
| Bologna | Italy | €1-€7 | Charges per total booking depending on price range |
| Tokyo | Japan | €0-€0.61 (0-100 YEN) | Charges per total booking depending on price range |
| Osaka | Japan | €6.10 (JPY 1,000) | Charges one-off payment for overseas departure |
| Kyoto | Japan | €6.10 (JPY 1,000) | Charges one-off payment for overseas departure |
| Fukuoka | Japan | €6.10 (JPY 1,000) | Charges one-off payment for overseas departure |
| Sapporo | Japan | €6.10 (JPY 1,000) | Charges one-off payment for overseas departure |
| Vilnius | Lithuania | €2 | Charges per person, per night |
| Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | €2.08 (10.00 MYR) | Charges per room, per night |
| Johor Bahru | Malaysia | €2.08 (10.00 MYR) | Charges per room, per night |
| Cancún | Mexico | €13 (283 MXN) | Charges one-off payment |
| Mexico City | Mexico | €13 (283 MXN) | Charges one-off payment |
| Marrakech | Morocco | €2.74 (28.60 MAD) | Charges one-off payment |
| Amsterdam | Netherlands | 12.5% | Charges percentage of total booking |
| Porto | Portugal | €3 | Charges per person per night |
| Lisbon | Portugal | €4 | Charges per person per night |
| Palma de Mallorca | Spain | €2-€4 | Charges depending on accommodation type or star rating (from May to October) |
| Barcelona | Spain | €5.70-€7.50 | Charges depending on accommodation type or star rating |
| Zurich | Switzerland | €3.74 (3.50 CHF) | Charges per person, per night |
| Istanbul | Turkey | 2% | Charges percentage of total booking |
| Antalya | Turkey | 2% | Charges percentage of total booking |
| Sharjah | UAE | 10% | Charges percentage of total booking |
| Abu Dhabi | UAE | 4% | Charges percentage of total booking |
| Dubai | UAE | €1.67-€4.78 (7AED-20 AED) | Charges depending on accommodation type or star rating |
| New York | USA | €3.07 ($3.50) or14.75% | Charges per person or a percentage of total booking |
| Honolulu | USA | 10.25% | Charges percentage of total booking |
| Las Vegas | USA | 13.38% | Charges percentage of total booking |
| Washington | USA | 14.95% | Charges percentage of total booking |
| San Francisco | USA | 14% | Charges percentage of total booking |
| Los Angeles | USA | 15.5% | Charges percentage of total booking |
| Orlando | USA | 6% | Charges percentage of total booking |
| Miami | USA | 6% | Charges percentage of total booking |
Source: [3]
Tourist taxes are taken in various ways depending on the country and city, with the common ways to apply a charge being a percentage added to the hotel cost, a charge depending on the star rating of your accommodation, or a one-off payment on arrival.
Cities charging tourist tax by hotel star rating
In several countries, tourist tax charges vary depending on the hotel’s star rating, with five-star stays incurring the highest costs.
France, Greece, and Italy are the most prominent examples where this pricing structure applies. While rates differ between countries, they are generally consistent within each country, except in Italy, where the specific amount varies from city to city.
Source: [3]
Cities in France
Tourist tax is charged in three of France’s well-known cities – Paris, Nice, and Marne-La-Vallée.
In each city, the amount you pay depends on the type of accommodation and its official star rating. The charges are fixed per person, per night, and help fund local services and tourism infrastructure.
Rates range from €2.60 to €11.38 per night. Here’s a breakdown of how much you’ll pay depending on where you stay:[3]
- 1-star accommodation: €2.60
- 2-star accommodation: €3.25
- 3-star accommodation: €5.53
- 4-star accommodation: €8.45
- 5-star accommodation: €11.38
Cities in Greece
Similarly, Greece also charges a uniform fee across its major cities (Athens, Rhodes, and Heraklion) depending on the type of accommodation booked, with one-star being the cheapest and five-star being the most expensive.
Rates range from €2.00 to €15.00 per night, with higher-end stays subject to higher fees. These charges are typically enforced from April through October, during peak tourist season.
Here’s what you can expect to pay:[3]
- 1-2 star hotels: €2.00
- 3-star hotels: €5.00
- 4-star hotels: €10.00
- 5-star hotels: €15.00
- Short-term rental properties (under 80 m²): €8.00
- Detached homes/villas (over 80 m²): €15.00
Cities in Italy
Several major Italian cities, including Rome, Florence, Venice, Verona, Milan, and Bologna apply tourist tax rates based on the official star rating of the accommodation. The amount charged increases with hotel quality, with five-star hotels attracting the highest rates.
In most cities, this is a per-person, per-night fee, and the revenue helps preserve Italy’s cultural heritage, infrastructure, and tourism services. Some cities, like Venice and Bologna, also apply seasonal pricing, with rates increasing during peak travel months.
Rates range from €1.00 to €10.00 per night, depending on the location and property type. Below is a breakdown from our dataset:[3]
Rome
- 1-star: €4
- 2-star: €5
- 3-star: €6
- 4-star: €7.50
- 5-star: €10
Florence
- 1-star hotels/aparthotels: €3.50
- 2-star: €4.50
- 3-star: €6.00
- 4-star: €7.00
- 5-star: €8.00
Venice (February to December only)
- 1-star: €1
- 2-star: €2
- 3-star: €3.50
- 4-star: €4.50
- 5-star: €5
Verona
- 1-star: €1
- 2-star: €1.50
- 3-star: €3.50
- 4-star: €4
- 5-star: €5
- Apartments: €2.50
Milan
- 1–3 star hotels: €1.80
- 4–5 star hotels: €7.00
- Short-term rentals: €6.30
Bologna (April to December only)
- €1–€30.99/night: €4
- €31–€70.99/night: €5.80
- €71–€120.99/night: €6.50
- €121+/night: €7
- Campsites and hostels: €2.80
Cities charging per person, per night
Charging per person, per night is one way cities apply tourist taxes. This approach is used by destinations such as Buenos Aires (Argentina) at €1.30 ($1.50 USD), Prague (Czech Republic) at €2.02 (50 CZK), Frankfurt (Germany) at €2, Budapest (Hungary) at €2.48 (1000 HUF), and many other popular cities.[3]
Charging per person, per night is a straightforward way to apply tourist tax, this amount is automatically added to your booking costs and is organised by the hotel or accommodation.
Source: [3]
Cities charging a percentage of hotel bookings
Another tourist tax method that cities use is to take a percentage of the total hotel booking cost. For instance, Los Angeles, USA, charges 15.5% of the total booking cost for tourist tax compared to 2% taken in Istanbul, Turkey.
Again, this method is automatically charged and added to the cost of a hotel or accommodation during the booking process.
For example, if you were to find hotel accommodation worth €100 in Amsterdam, you’d pay an extra €12.50 (12.5%) to cover the tourist tax charge, totalling €112.50.[3]
Are there any countries without a tourist tax?
Tourist taxes are becoming more common, with Edinburgh, Scotland, set to introduce one in 2026. However, there are still many countries where visitors are not required to pay a tourist tax.[5]
Here’s a list of countries where major cities currently do not charge one:
- Australia
- Brazil
- Chile
- China
- Denmark
- Dominican Republic
- Egypt
- Estonia
- Finland
- Georgia
- Germany
- India
- Ireland
- Israel
- Macau
- Norway
- Peru
- Poland
- Qatar
- Saudi Arabia
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Taiwan
- Thailand
- United Kingdom (until Scotland introduces a tourist tax in 2026)
- Vietnam
A brief history of tourist taxes
While tourist taxes may feel like a modern response to overtourism, they’ve been around in some form for well over a century. One of the earliest examples dates back to Austria in 1842, when a ‘spa tax’ was introduced to help maintain facilities in health resorts.[6]
France followed, introducing a tax charge way back in 1910, to help support the development of tourism in holiday resorts, demonstrating that the tourist tax is nothing new.[7]
Although the name for Switzerland’s tourist tax is confusing, they have been charging a form of tourist taxes since 1948, where visitors would pay for the compulsory stamps in advance of entering Biel in Switzerland.[8]
Other countries have only recently imposed tourist taxes, often in specific cities – with Italy, Hungary, and Germany introducing tax between 2011 and 2012. While countries such as Slovenia and the Netherlands have only started charging in more recent times (2019 and 2020 respectively).[9][10]
The latest country to project a new tourist charge is Scotland as they plan to add a 5% cost to accommodation in 2026, which is capped after five consecutive nights stay.[5]
All information is correct as of June 2025.
Sources
- Responsible Travel, ‘Tourist taxes – what they are, where they apply and who pays’ (https://www.responsibletravel.com/copy/tourist-taxes)
- Sustainable Travel International, ‘What is overtourism?’ (https://sustainabletravel.org/what-is-overtourism/#:~:text=Overtourism%20occurs%20when%20too%20many,and%20a%20diminished%20visitor%20experience.)
- Holidu, ‘Global city tourist tax’ (https://www.holidu.co.uk/magazine/global-city-tourist-tax)
The Trainline, ‘Tourist taxes in Europe’ (https://www.thetrainline.com/en-us/via/europe/tourist-taxes-in-europe) - New York Post, ‘Tax on tourists and travelers coming soon to popular destination Edinburgh’ (https://nypost.com/2025/02/22/lifestyle/tax-on-tourists-and-travelers-coming-soon-to-popular-destination-edinburgh/)
- Adventure.com, ‘European tourist tax hike: ski transport free?’ (https://adventure.com/european-tourist-tax-hike-ski-transport-free)
- Amenitiz, ‘The tourist tax: a real resource for tourism’ (https://amenitiz.com/en/blog/the-tourist-tax-a-real-resource-for-tourism)
- J Barefoot, ‘Tourism Tax Stamps of Switzerland’ (https://www.jbarefoot.co.uk/pdfs/Tourism%20Tax%20Stamps%20of%20Switzerland%20v2.03.pdf)
- Visit Maribor, ‘Tourist tax in Maribor’ (https://www.visitmaribor.si/en/information/practical-information/tourist-tax-in-maribor/)
- The Telegraph, ‘Tourist tax: Amsterdam and Venice’ (https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/tourist-tax-amsterdam-venice/)
