Here’s a summary of Europe’s new tourist taxes and visitor caps.
Planning a holiday in Europe is becoming increasingly complex to navigate, with new tourist taxes, local restrictions, and changing regulations across popular destinations. While some locations have implemented outright bans on beaches or visitor limits at attractions, others welcome tourists who follow local guidelines. Here’s a comprehensive overview of what to expect this year.
Spain: Managing Tourism, Not Banning It
Despite media coverage of Spain’s struggle with overtourism, the country isn’t banning tourists outright. Instead, policies are being implemented to manage tourism in popular destinations like Mallorca, Tenerife, and Barcelona.
Holiday rentals, including Airbnb-style properties, remain available, though flats registered after February 2024 without private entrances will have their licenses permanently cancelled.
Malaga has banned short-term lets in 43 neighborhoods, while Barcelona plans to phase out tourist apartment rentals by 2028. Similar restrictions are in place in Alicante and Madrid.
Visitors should expect to provide detailed information including nationality, address, phone number, and email address when booking accommodation or renting cars.
Visitor Caps and Restrictions
Cruise tourism faces widespread restrictions. Ibiza is limiting simultaneous docking, and Barcelona has reduced permissible cruise ship numbers. While these changes won’t affect individual cruise passengers’ bookings, city entry taxes may apply, such as Venice’s €5 or €10 fee.
The Acropolis in Athens now limits daily visitors to 20,000, with advance booking required. Pompeii, which saw over four million visitors last year, will implement a 20,000 daily visitor cap. The Colosseum in Rome maintains a 3,000-visitor limit at any time. In Seville, plans are underway to close the Plaza de España and charge tourists €3 to €4.
Sardinia’s Spiaggia Rosa beach was closed in 1998 to protect its pink sands and wildlife. Since 2023, Italy has increased enforcement, issuing fines between €500 and €3,500 for trespassing. Prague prohibits costumed groups of stag and hen parties, while Rome fines shirtless men and those attaching “love padlocks” to bridges.
Tourist Taxes Across Europe
Greece
Visitors pay €8 per day in tourist tax (€56 per week per adult), with some accommodations offering child discounts. The Climate Resilience Tax ranges from €1.50 for basic lodging to €10 per night for luxury hotels. During the off-season rates (November-March), the rates drop to €2 per day for the tourist tax and between €0.50 and €4 daily for the environmental tax. Cruise passengers pay €20 to visit Santorini or Mykonos; other locations charge €5.
Portugal
Among Portugal’s 306 municipalities, 26 currently charge tourist taxes. Setúbal charges €2 per person nightly, as do Lisbon, Madeira, and Faro. The Azores introduced a €2 per person nightly tax in January 2025.
Spain
Barcelona combines a €4 city tax with a regional tourist tax, plus €6.25 for cruise passengers staying over 12 hours. Regional tourist tax varies from €1.70 for basic hotels to €3.50 for luxury accommodation. The Balearic Islands charge a high-season green tax from €1 for hostels to €4 for luxury hotels. Mogan City Council on Gran Canaria introduced a €0.15 per person nightly tax. Valencia and Madrid have proposed but not yet implemented tourist taxes.
Italy
Municipal rates vary: Rome (€3-€7), Milan (€2-€5), and Florence (€1-€5). A proposed national tax of up to €25 for luxury hotels remains under debate. Venice charges day visitors €5 (€10 if booked fewer than four days ahead) between April 18 and July 27 on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays.
Other Major Cities
Paris combines regional and tourist taxes ranging from €1.95 for campsites to €15.60 per person nightly for luxury accommodation. Amsterdam increased its tourist tax from 7% to 12.5% of accommodation cost. Edinburgh may become the first UK city to implement a mandatory tourist levy, with Wales and London considering similar schemes.
Travel Authorization Requirements
The UK’s Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) costs €11.82, with a proposed increase to €18.91 awaiting parliamentary debate. Valid for two years, the ETA is already required for non-EU visitors and will extend to EU citizens from April 2, 2025.
Twist’s Take: Tourist taxes and visitor caps aim to preserve Europe’s cultural heritage while managing sustainable tourism for future generations. Be sure to know before you go!
