Tourist Tax – Is it all bad?

With tourist tax doubling in the likes of Ibiza and Majorca for 2019, this is something that has yet to be put in place in the Algarve region. Portugal’s capital of Lisbon brought in the added fee in January 2016, so it is only a matter of time before the country’s popular tourist counterpart follows suit.

The Algarve is known as a great value destination, and whilst some European countries are charging as much as €4 a day per person, talks suggest that councils such as Lagos intend to charge a much less €1.50. The added cost will only be applicable during the first seven days of your stay, with those under 12 years of age being exempt. In a bid to encourage off-season travellers, the tax will just apply during the months of March through to October.

In recent discussions, the president of Lagos Municipality, Joaquina Matos, said she had no doubts about the positivity of the proposal to create the Municipal Tourist Tax, “with the growing number of visitors, the costs to municipalities are increasing, and it is fair that the cost be partly borne by tourists, and not only by the council budget and it’s residents”.  Increased tourism over recent years has provided a much needed boost to the economy, but has also forced up rents and put additional strain on municipal services in the process. The tourist tax is designed to even the balance, and allow municipalities to raise much needed funds.