European cities with visitor entrance fees: Venice, Valencia and Barcelona charge holidaymakers

Three popular European cities are introducing new ‘tourist tax’ charges as dispute continues over a proposed EU tourist tax that all Britons will have to pay to cross the EU border.

Venice, Valencia and Barcelona will impose new tourist fees throughout 2023, a move some travel agencies have warned will hurt the tourism industry.

Some of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations already charge their own nightly tourist tax in an attempt to limit ‘overtourism’.

It comes as a row over an EU tourist tax continues to grow. Under the EU plan, any non-EU tourist will have to pay €7 for visa-free entry, and this must be renewed every three years.

The fee, called the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), will apply to those visiting the Schengen Area from November.

The ETIAS charge would be above any local tourist tax in the visiting country or region.

It will allow people visa-free entry for up to 90 days, during which visitors will not be able to work or study, but will be able to “engage in business and tourism activities,” according to the Schengen visa information website.

The ETIAS will be valid for up to three years and will count for multiple entries. Those under 18 years of age and over 70 years of age will be exempt from the fee.

The website states that visitors “may enter Schengen member states as many times as they like, as long as their ETIAS is valid and they have not stayed more than 90 days in any 180-day period.”

On top of the charge, tourists could soon face hefty additional fees per night, particularly in Venice, where a proposed tax would cost day-trippers between €3 and €10 to enter the city.

But this tax has been delayed several times, most recently in December 2022, partly due to protests by locals who fear it will drive tourists elsewhere.

The city already charges an overnight fee to visitors of between €1 and €5 per night.

The new daily rate has been delayed until at least June 2023.

A growing number of Spanish regions also charge for each night of hotel accommodation.

Valencia will implement a new tourist tax at the end of the year.

Tourists will have to pay from 50 cents to €2 depending on the type of accommodation they use, from camping to hotels.

In Barcelona, ​​the Catalan capital, there is already a visitor rate, but it will increase this year.

The tax, first introduced in 2012, means tourists must pay both the regional tourist tax and an additional charge by the city.

Catalonia charges up to €3.25 per night depending on accommodation type, recent figures show, while Barcelona’s rate will increase to €2.75 from April, with a second increase in April 2024 to €3.25 .

Other cities in Europe already have a night tax on visitors. In Brussels, tourists will be charged around €7.50 per night, per room.

Prague, German cities like Berlin and Hamburg, Budapest and Amsterdam are among those who charge.

In other nations, such as France, the tax is charged to tourists regardless of their location.

In the vast majority of cases, charges are automatically applied and included in the accommodation reservation costs.

It comes after the Costa del Sol this week issued a searing “leave tourism alone” message as fears over the new tourist tax mount across the EU.

Tourism leaders have said they are completely against the idea that Britons could be forced to pay an extra €7 (£6.20) every time they want to holiday in Spain.

In a clear message to the EU, one of the Costa del Sol’s leading politicians has told it to stop meddling and let Spain manage its own tourism affairs.

Earlier this week, the tourism organization Tourism Bureau issued an urgent warning about the loss of millions of Britons if the European Union introduces a new tourist tax later this year.

The group says it could be a big problem for Spain, describing the potential new charge as a “threat”.

At its general assembly, the group expressed its concern about the creation of the new tourist tax for non-EU visitors entering the Schengen Area.

In a statement on Monday, the board said: ‘[We are] especially concerned about the impact of this EU tax on British tourism, our main source market with 18 million arrivals in 2019.

‘It must also be taken into account that the measure -if it goes ahead- will be added to the rest of the local taxes that tourists are already paying to visit certain European cities.’

Francisco Salado, president of the Malaga Provincial Council, also spoke out against the EU tax.

‘Let’s leave tourism alone!’ he said he at a press conference.

“Tourism works very well on its own through the sector and the agents involved such as Turismo Costa del Sol and Turismo Andaluz”.

Speaking to journalists, he said that tourism is the economic engine of Malaga and Andalusia and criticized the prospective tax.

And he added: ‘Stop inventing. Every time we introduce a product, we do it because we improve tourist quality and, in the end, an imposition does not improve quality.

‘What it does is put a cost on the final product and makes us less competitive.

‘The EU is always inventing how to put new taxes on municipalities.

‘Up there they legislate and we, the city councils and the citizens, pay. I think it is a lack of loyalty that local administrations are not present when making these decisions.’

Another concern raised by the Bureau earlier this week was Lufthansa’s plan to make Rome’s Fiumicino airport its new hub for intercontinental routes to Asia, the Americas and Africa.

The group said: “This measure would undermine the Madrid Barajas hub, which currently concentrates air traffic with Latin America and, consequently, would diminish the relevance of the Spain brand.”

ETIAS will apply to visitors from 63 countries, including Great Britain, outside the European Union. It was first confirmed by the EU in August 2021.

The scheme will be similar to the US Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), which allows citizens of 40 countries a 90-day stay without a visa.

Like the US system, ETIAS will allow people to enter without a visa for up to 90 days, during which visitors cannot work or study, but can “engage in business and tourism activities.” according to the Schengen visa information website.

The EU version will be valid for up to three years and will count for multiple entries. Those under 18 years of age and over 70 years of age will be exempt from the fee.

The website states that visitors “may enter Schengen member states as many times as they like, as long as their ETIAS is valid and they have not stayed more than 90 days in any 180-day period.”