Nature, heritage: what are tourist taxes for?

This article was originally published in English

Indonesia introduced a tourist tax on the particularly popular island of Bali in mid-February.

Foreign visitors now have to pay 150,000 Indonesian rupiah (nine euros) to visit this corner of paradise.

According to local authorities, this new tax aims to protect the island’s environment and culture. A practice that has already been adopted by several dozen tourist sites around the world that charge an entrance fee. This lucrative measure allowed them to reinvest the selected sums, which amount to millions of dollars.

Bali’s new tourism tax should help protect the natural environment

According to the Bali Provincial Government website new tourist tax should allow “to continue the efforts and innovations associated with improving the quality of Bali’s natural and cultural environment by contributing to its conservation, protection and revitalization”.

This tax should also make it possible to “improve the quality of services, safety and comfort of tourists through the development of land, sea and air infrastructure in an integrated and interconnected manner”.

The authorities have to deal with two main challenges in particular Bali have to face, namely too many traffic jams and waste management.

Industry leaders Tourism and the island’s hotel industry have requested the establishment of an audit to obtain guarantees of transparency on how the funds will subsequently be spent.

They hope that the proceeds will be invested in projects that concern the municipalities Baliwhich have become essential places for tourists who want to discover Balinese culture and heritage.

In these villages, local initiatives focus on preserving local customs and creating economic opportunities for residents who do not directly benefit from tourism windfalls.

During a trial period before the tax went into effect, where visitors could make voluntary contributions, the tax raised more than $100,000, the equivalent of 92,000 euros, according to local authorities.

In Venice, the entrance fee will fund services for residents

In Europe, right to The provision – which has long been the subject of debate – will finally come into force in Venice, during an initial testing period, this spring.

You will have to pay five euros to enter the City of Doges, during particularly busy weekends and also on other days of the week from April to mid-July, for a total of 29 days.

Authorities have launched sites that tourists go to Venice must register and indicate their presence, including those who had free access, due to the payment of the tourist tax or their eventual exemption.

The municipality will thus be able to estimate the number of people present in the city on a given day and, if necessary, adapt public services such as waste collection.

Credited with reducing crowds and encouraging longer visits, the entrance fee also aims to raise funds to help improve residents’ quality of life.

“This is not a money making tool,” assured Simone Venturini, municipal councilor in charge of tourism, after announcing the introduction of the measure, “but (the tax) intended to finance services for citizens such as maintenance, cleaning and reducing the cost of living, including the possibility of reducing waste taxes.”
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“The historical center has to be swept manually by agents, without the assistance of machines. The cost of waste management is therefore higher than in a normal city”, explains Gabriele Vattolo, press spokesperson responsible for tourism in the municipality Venice.

“Similarly, the cost of maintaining banks and canals is higher than the cost of a road.”

The entrance fee will also make it possible to increase the income associated with the tourist night tax (between 1 and 5 euros for customers of hotels and other tourist accommodation), which should amount to 37 million euros in 2023.

The municipal council is obliged by law to set aside income for the financing of facilities and services directly or indirectly related to tourism.

This may particularly concern the security personnel who patrol the historic center and help manage the onslaught of tourists.

Income from the tourist tax also helps maintain the city’s architectural heritage or fund annual cultural events such as the “Feast of the Redeemer”, where gondolas gather in front of St. Mark’s Square to watch the fireworks.

Barcelona uses tourist tax increase to fund green initiatives

In 2022, the municipality announced that Barcelona tourist tax will increase over the next two years.

Since 2012, visitors to the Catalan metropolis have to pay both a regional tourist tax and a city-wide surcharge.

On 1 April 2023, the local authorities increased the council tax to 2.75 euros. The second increase is planned for April 1, when it will rise to 3.25 euros.

The city council said the revenue would be used to fund city infrastructure, including road improvements, bus services and escalators.

At the end of 2023, the authorities also announced the launch of eight new projects, financed to the tune of 7.69 million euros from tourism tax revenue.

Among them is “Viu la vela”, an initiative aimed at encouraging young people to practice sailing. This initiative is also part of the support of the “blue economy”, i.e. all economic activities connected with water spheres and marine ecosystems.

An envelope of 4.93 million euros will also be used to support “blue tourism”, especially water sports.

This year, the authorities said they allocated 100 million euros of tourism tax revenue to install heat pumps and solar panels in public schools.

until 2029 Barcelona plans to equip schools with 181,000 square meters of solar panels.

“Until now, we have spent these taxes to offset the impact of tourism on the city, particularly on cleaning services, security and public transport.”Jordi Valls, Barcelona’s head of economic and tourism promotion, told the South China Morning Post.

“This year we decided to go even further and dedicate the proceeds of this tax to climate finance public services.”

The decision comes at a time when the region is suffering the worst drought never recorded, leading authorities to declare a state of emergency.