From February 14, Bali, an Indonesian tourist destination, will impose a tourism tax of 150,000 rupiah (about 69 yuan) on all foreign tourists visiting the island.
Bali Provincial Tourism Director Putu Astava said the latest fee policy is to "raise the awareness and responsibility of foreign tourists to participate in the protection of Bali's environment and culture".
Bali Beach. Source: Xinhua News Agency.
Resorts impose taxes on tourists, and Bali is not the first one. With the recovery of the global tourism industry, "overtourism" is back in the public eye. Since the beginning of this year, many popular tourist destinations have imposed tourism taxes in different ways.
Since January this year, Iceland has reinstated the introduction of an accommodation tax for tourists. Hotels and guesthouses charge 600 ISK (about 31 RMB) per room, and cruise ship passengers charge 1,000 ISK. Iceland** said the tax was intended to finance sustainable development initiatives and reduce the environmental impact of overtourism.
Icelandic landscapes. Source: Xinhua News Agency.
Venice, a famous tourist city in Italy, will also charge 5 euros (about 38 yuan) for "day trip" tourists to enter the city from 2024 on the basis of the original accommodation tax. According to one city, Venice became "the first city in the world to require an entrance fee." ”
Venice, the "water city" of Italy. Source: Xinhua News Agency.
For many popular tourist cities, the influx of tourists not only disturbs the tranquility of local residents, pushes up local consumption levels, but also puts unprecedented pressure on infrastructure and urban management. The imposition of a tourism tax, which varies in name, has become a major measure in many cities and regions to curb the number of tourists.
It started in a European city.
The tourist tax is nothing new.
As early as many years ago, famous European tourist cities such as London in the United Kingdom, Paris in France, Rome in Italy, and Amsterdam in the Netherlands began to levy a tourist tax - an additional fee on top of the accommodation fee per night. This charge is also known as the "city tax" or "accommodation tax".
A report published in 2020 surveyed 30 European countries, of which 21 introduced a tourism tax by adding an additional tax to the accommodation fee for foreign tourists.
For example, Rome, the capital of Italy, has developed a subdivided fee gradient for different types of accommodation standards: 7 euros per person per night for a five-star hotel, 6 euros for a four-star hotel, 4 euros for a three-star hotel, 3 euros for a one- and two-star hotel, and 3 euros for a house and holiday home5 euros, campsites and youth hostels also cost 2 euros.
The Colosseum in Rome, Italy. Source: Xinhua News Agency.
Starting from European cities, this form of tourism tax has been adopted by many countries and regions.
For example, since September 2017, Malaysia has imposed a tourism tax of 10 ringgit (about 15 yuan) on all foreign visitors staying in hotels.
Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, at night. Source: Xinhua News Agency.
Nowadays, there is more than one way to collect the tourist tax. In addition to adding this tax to the cost of accommodation at hotels, hostels and homestays, some countries and regions also add it to air tickets, while others require it to be paid when applying for a visa or entering the country.
Botswana, a country in southern Africa known for its animal migration, introduced a $30 "tourism development tax" on tourists in June 2017. Foreign travellers other than SADC countries are required to pay this amount at the immigration point on the day they enter the airport or border crossing.
New Zealand** has imposed a tourist tax of NZ$35 (about 154 RMB) on foreign visitors (excluding Australian visitors) since July 2019, which they need to pay when applying for a visa. The full name of this tax is the "International Tourist Protection and Tourism Tax", which is used for the protection of New Zealand's natural resources and related infrastructure.
Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. Source: Xinhua News Agency.
In addition to the "accommodation tax", taxes are also levied in the form of airline tickets**. In January 2019, Japan began to levy an "international tourist tax" of 1,000 yen (about 60 yuan) on all departures as a fund to revitalize Japan's tourism industry**.
Kiyomizudera Temple, a popular tourist attraction in Japan. Source: Xinhua News Agency.
Overtravel troubles.
Since last year, tourist cities such as Venice in Italy and Barcelona in Spain have once again been "crowded" by tourists who have come to visit. In order to alleviate the bearing pressure and benefit local development, the tourism tax in some cities has been raised, and even a new fee item has been derived - "city entry fee".
Starting this year, Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, has raised the tourist tax to 12% of accommodation fees. According to official data released by Amsterdam, the average accommodation price in the city is 175 euros per night, and the adjusted tourist tax is 21 euros (about 162 yuan) per night.
According to the Netherlands**, Amsterdam has the highest tourist tax in Europe.
Amsterdam, the Netherlands is crowded with tourists.
Paris, the capital of France, has also raised its tourist tax about three times since this year. From 1 euro per night in the most basic hostel to 5 euros per night in a luxury hotel, it has risen to 26 euros to 1495 euros. France** said the move was to finance improved public transport.
Paris, France. The places where the tax is levied are often popular tourist destinations, which suffer from environmental degradation and damage to infrastructure caused by overtourism. According to many places**, this fee is ultimately used for local infrastructure, environmental protection and public services.
In July last year, UNESCO recommended that the old town of Venice be added to the list of "World Heritage Sites under Threat". The agency warned that if Italian authorities did not take steps to protect Venice from the dangers of overtourism, the old town could suffer "irreversible damage".
The core area of Venice currently has a serious loss of permanent population, which is less than 50,000. During the peak tourist season, the number of tourists exceeds twice the resident population.
In addition to the "entrance fee" mentioned at the beginning, Venice will also prohibit tour groups of more than 25 people from entering the city from June this year, and strictly prohibit the use of loudspeakers in the city. The relevant person in charge of Venice ** said that this is to meet the needs of local residents and better control the huge number of tourists.
Venice is crowded with tourists.
Bali, which is ready to pay the "island entrance fee", has been overcrowded with tourists for many years, and the environmental problems that come with it have also put pressure on the local area. Local residents are extremely unhappy that the coastline is almost occupied by plastic waste. Bali province** has said that 70% of the tax collected will be used to set up a new waste management system on the island.
Another major background that triggered Bali's official tourism tax measures was the number of incidents involving foreign tourists misbehaving at religious and cultural sites in Bali last year. Bali's Governor Koster has announced that he will focus on creating high-quality tourism and will only welcome tourists who know how to respect the local culture.
Bali's Nusa Dua Beach scenery. Source: Xinhua News Agency.
Ivan Saprov, founder of the US-based travel technology company Voyagu, said a modest sustainability-related charge was not unacceptable to tourists. They did a survey and nearly 40% of visitors said that there is nothing wrong with the fee, but only if the final flow of the fee is open and transparent.
Skepticism. Since the introduction of tourism tax in many countries and regions, there has been no shortage of doubts.
Bhutan, a landlocked country located in the southern foothills of the Himalayas, is charging foreign tourists a fee of US$200 from September 2022. This fee is referred to as the "sustainability fee" by Bhutan** and aims to reduce the "carbon footprint" caused by foreign tourists. However, after one year of implementation, Bhutan** halved the fee to US$100.
In the United Kingdom, where tourism recovery has been slow, there was a campaign to "abolish the tourist tax" last year, winning the support of dozens of senior parliamentarians, including more than 200 business leaders from the retail, hotel and tourism industries, as well as former prime ministers. They said that the exemption of the tourist tax can attract more tourists, which can boost consumption and economic development, which in turn will generate more tax revenue.
London, England's landmark, the giant Ferris wheel "London Eye". Source: Xinhua News Agency.
In a joint statement at the end of last year, a number of French hospitality companies expressed their anger at the increase in tourism tax: "When the world is about to focus on the Paris Olympics, this move is a blow to the competitiveness of the industry and the image of France." ”
A scholar who studies foreign tourism taxes has previously written that in the Algarve, a tourist destination in southern Portugal, only 19% of tourists are willing to pay accommodation tax to protect the local environment; In the Montego Bay Marine Reserve in Jamaica, lodging workers strongly oppose taxing tourists to protect the ecology due to concerns about declining visitor volumes.
For international influencer cities that resist "overtourism", imposing taxes on tourists is just one way to mitigate the problem. Many cities are still exploring more ways to control passenger flow.
Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Amsterdam, known as a "pioneer city in the fight against overtourism", launched a campaign last March to persuade tourists not to party in the city through advertisements and other means. In an effort to control the size of tourists, Amsterdam has also restricted short-term rentals in certain areas and closed a major cruise terminal in the city centre.
According to a November 2023 report, the Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Zurab Pololikashvili, said that the key to solving overtourism lies in the management of passenger flows. He stressed that new technologies could solve this problem, with towns in northern Germany using lidar sensors installed in self-driving cars to monitor the flow of tourists.
The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, the capital of Germany. Source: Xinhua News Agency.
In an effort to tackle overtourism without sacrificing tourism revenues, some countries are attracting tourists to sparsely populated areas.
According to Jan. 13, Yang Yu, director of Tourism Nova in Asia, said, "We don't actively promote popular areas like Amsterdam", and the focus is on "promoting lesser-known areas, guiding tourists to visit, and trying to balance the number of tourists".
Italy** has also diverted tourist attractions such as St. Mark's Square, which is often crowded, by promoting other tourist destinations in the country. Japan Tourism** is a strong push for foreign tourists to travel to the country's rural areas.
*: References: Xinhua News Agency, People's Daily Online, Global Times, and financial magazines.
Consumer News & Business Channel, Private Geographic Magazine, Daily Mail, German Presse, AFP, and Lianhe Zaobao.
*Produced by Guangzhou ** Media Key Laboratory.