An already “incredibly expensive” country for tourists can become even more expensive: in Norway, they are discussing the introduction of a tourist tax for tourists. The country, we note, is visited annually by about 10 million tourists, the main tourist attractions are fjords, islands, wildlife, as well as tours to the “pristine” islands. It is the desire to preserve the pristine nature that explains the government's idea to introduce a new tax on tourism-related activities.
According to the local NTB agency, as part of the agreement, the government will propose to introduce a tax on tourism in 2024. This policy will be included in the 2024 budget, which will be presented next fall. No details yet, the tourism tax discussion is at an early stage and the government is “exploring options”, experts add.
“We need to explore all options and see how such a tax could be designed both practically and legally. But the idea is to give locals more opportunities,” commented Lars Wangen, state secretary at the finance ministry. The tax may come in the form of tourists paying an additional tax on hotels, souvenirs and tourism activities.
The expert also explained that one of the reasons for the tourist tax is that many of the most attractive tourist attractions are located in small local governments, where municipalities spend huge sums every year on maintaining attractions, maintaining main walking routes and combating pollution and debris caused by visitors. .
Recall that another tourist tax may be more relevant for Russian tourists: the Turkish authorities refuse to once again postpone the introduction of a tourist accommodation tax, which should be introduced from January 1. The “cry” of tourism, calling for the postponement of the measure for another year “due to the serious problems that the tourism sector is experiencing,” was not heard. At least, judging by the publications in the Turkish tourism media, the relevant Minister of Tourism “redirected” the responsibility, again recalling that a similar tax exists in many countries of the world, and also urged hotel owners not to be complacent, because in 2022 “their performance turned out to be the best “. The tax – approximately 2% – is planned to be levied on any type of tourist accommodation, from a luxury villa to a tent in a campsite. “Accommodation tax will be levied on such facilities as hotels, motels, holiday villages, boarding houses, apart-hotels, thermal facilities, guest houses, mountain houses,” experts list. It will also include some of the additional services that will be offered by placements. Read more here.
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