Taxes are one of the only certainties in life, or so the saying goes. But nations and cities worldwide are taking this to a new level by adding 'tourist taxes' to our travel plans. Here's a round-up of the taxes that could be hurting your holiday spend soon.
France: Paris is introducing a new system that will almost double the tourist tax. The tax rates added to hotel stays will increase and could reach as much as 15.93 euros per additional night in luxury hotels, as well as hikes in taxes for lower-category accommodations.
Additional income generated will be ploughed back into modernising metro lines and preserving historical buildings, enabling the city to remain one of the world's favourite tourism destinations.
Finland: The Finnish Government plans to introduce new legislation allowing municipalities to levy a tourist tax.
The tourist tax, if introduced, would apply to short-term paid accommodation and would cover both domestic and international travellers. It would also extend across all forms of temporary accommodation to ensure uniformity. If approved, the law could come into force in 2027 and begin in 2028.
Italy: Vienna has begun to increase its local accommodation tax to 5% starting in July 2026. This rate is planned to reach 8% by 2027.
The extra funding, the city administration argues, will be used for public transportation investments, museum renovations, and the preservation of historical buildings.
Spain: The Spanish port city of Vigo, highly popular among cruise stopovers, is set to introduce a new tourist tax on cruise passengers and visitors staying overnight.
The local government in the northwestern region has approved a new tax that will charge tourists up to €2 (£1.70) per night from October 2026. According to The Independent, until July 1 2027, the tax will apply only to the first two nights of the stay, but after that date, it will apply to a maximum of five nights for each stay. Tourists' cruises that dock at Vigo's ports will face the nightly tax from July 1 2027.
The report added that tourists who have booked a five-star hotel will be charged the maximum amount, €2 per night, while three- and four-star stays will charge €1.60 per night. Two- and one-star accommodation, pensioners, and cruise ship passengers will be charged the nightly rate of €1.20.
UK: London is presently working on a "visitor tax" that would charge tourists an additional fee for their stays. The move, which is in line with other cities across Europe.
The UK government is presently refining the proposals to allow directly elected mayors to introduce the tourist tax. It would be intended to support growth in the capital and would cover some extra expenses borne by popular visitor spots.
It states revenue could support transport upgrades, public spaces, cultural programs and improvements to the travel experience. England attracts more than 130 million overnight visits each year.
Spain: From April 2026, visitors to Barcelona will pay twice as much tourism tax as before, along with an increased city tax. Guests will now face a maximum of 12 euros per person per night from April 1, up from the previous maximum of 7.50 euros.
Anyone staying in a vacation apartment will have to pay 4.50 euros per night, while those in five-star hotels will have to pay 7 euros. Cruise passengers will also face more charges. Those staying longer than twelve hours will pay 4 euros per night.
Italy: Venice's daily €5 tourist charge has returned for 2026. Visitors who book ahead will need to pay 5 euros to visit the city on certain days from April to July. The tourist fee doubles to 10 euros for those who book visits at the last minute.
Scotland: Edinburgh will be introducing Scotland's first tourist tax, called The Visitor Levy.
A Visitor Levy of 5% will be added onto accommodation charges, and will apply to anyone staying in paid overnight accommodation in the city. It will extend to all visitors, including UK and Scottish residents.
The levy on overnight stays in hotels, bed and breakfasts and self-catering accommodation will take effect from July 24 2026.
Worldwide: Thailand has introduced a new travel tax of 300 baht for foreign visitors arriving by air, land, or sea.
As of March 2026, Kyoto's tiered tourist tax system also increased, with those staying in luxury accommodation facing a rise from ¥1,000 to ¥10,000 per person per night. This is not forgetting the tripling of Japan's country-wide departure tax to ¥3,000.
Even Hawaii has introduced a tax with the 'green fee'. This increases the existing 10.25% tax (called a TAT or Transient Accommodations Tax) that visitors already pay on hotel rooms and other holiday accommodations to 11%.
Dublin City Council is also weighing up introducing a new tourist tax of up to €5 per night per visitor. Analysis suggests that a €2 tax could yield up to €17.5 million a year for the city. The authority is considering adopting the tourist tax fees currently in place in 21 of the 27 EU member states.
Andy Probert is a freelance journalist whose work about global travel news, aviation, business and human-interest features has appeared internationally in print and digital formats.
