Skift Take

Destinations worldwide are increasingly introducing tourist taxes to generate revenue, and we explain why those fees are becoming more common.

Rashaad Jorden

Many destinations around the world have become more expensive to visit in recent years as governments increasingly levy tourist taxes.

Why are destinations doing it? We put the question to Ask Skift, our artificial intelligence chatbot. Ask Skift used information that appeared in our past news coverage and we also did additional reporting.

Ask Skift said:

Destinations implement tourist taxes for various reasons. Here are some examples:

To combat overtourism: Tourist taxes are seen as a solution to the issue of overtourism. They are designed to lessen the strain that tourism can bring and are often framed as a response to overtourism. For example, cities like Amsterdam and Venice, which face an onslaught of visitors, have implemented plans for new taxes.

To generate revenue: Tourism officials use taxes as an easy source of local municipal rev