Official-source table of tourist taxes as of 1 November 2026, from Barcelona's €12 a night to Bhutan's US$100, plus the rises planned for 2027.
Cover image: The Grand Canal at the Rialto Bridge, Venice (2019 file photo) — photo by Armin Kleiner, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Tourist taxes in 2026 are collected in four main ways: per night by the accommodation (Paris, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Kyoto, Malta), in advance with a visa or online pass (New Zealand, Bhutan, Bali, Venice's day-tripper fee), on arrival (the Galápagos) or inside the air ticket (Japan). Among Europe's flat city charges, the steepest we verified are in Paris, where a palace guest pays €15.93 per adult per night, and Barcelona, at €12 per person per night in a five-star hotel. Kyoto's top band is ¥10,000 a head, and Bhutan's US$100 Sustainable Development Fee is the highest flat nightly charge in our table.
More rises are scheduled. Malta plans to lift its hotel eco-contribution from €1.50 to €8 a night on 1 January 2027, and Cardiff starts a visitor levy on 1 April 2027, the day Barcelona's surcharge rises. Every current rate below comes from an official source; charges we could not confirm officially are left out.
Last checked: 1 November 2026.
Which tourist taxes apply in 2026, country by country?
Each destination links to the official page or document its figures come from. Rates are per person unless stated.
| Destination | Charge | Rate (as of 1 November 2026) | Who pays and how | In force / next change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona, Spain | Catalan tax plus city surcharge | €12 five-star, €8.40 four-star, €9.50 tourist flat, per night (max 7); cruise calls of 12 hours or less €11 | Guests 17 and over; on the accommodation invoice | Since 1 April 2026; surcharge rises 1 April 2027 |
| Paris, France | Taxe de séjour | €15.93 palace, €11.70 five-star, €8.45 four-star, €5.53 three-star, per adult per night | Collected during the stay by the host or platform | Same grid in 2027 unless the law changes |
| Amsterdam, Netherlands | Tourist tax | 12.5% of the overnight price excl. VAT; €15 per cruise day visitor | Hosts charge guests; cruise operators pay the day tax | In force; 16% proposed for 2027 |
| Venice, Italy | Day-tripper access fee | €5 if paid four or more days ahead, otherwise €10 | Day visitors not staying overnight; paid online | 60 days, 3 April–26 July 2026 |
| Edinburgh, Scotland (UK) | Visitor levy | 5% of the accommodation cost before VAT, first 5 nights | Paid overnight stays, with some exemptions; added to the bill | Since 24 July 2026 |
| Cardiff, Wales (UK) | Visitor levy | £1.30 per person per night; 75p for adults in hostel dorms or tents | Provider pays and may pass it on | From 1 April 2027 |
| Malta | Eco-contribution | €1.50 per adult per night, max €22.50 per visit | Separate invoice line; no VAT or commission | Since 1 July 2026; €8–€10 planned from 1 January 2027 |
| Japan | International Tourist Tax (departure) | ¥3,000 per departure | In the air or sea fare; under-2s exempt | Since 1 July 2026 |
| Kyoto, Japan | Accommodation tax | ¥200–¥10,000 per person per night, by room rate | At the property, unless prepaid via a booking site or agent | Since 1 March 2026 |
| Bali, Indonesia | Tourist levy | IDR 150,000 per international tourist | Online via Love Bali | Provincial Regulation No. 2 of 2025 |
| Bhutan | Sustainable Development Fee (SDF) | US$100 per night (ages 6–12 US$50; under 6 free) | US-dollar-paying tourists, with the visa application | Discount runs to 31 August 2027 |
| New Zealand | International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL) | NZ$100 | With the visa or NZeTA; Australians and most Pacific Islanders exempt | Since 1 October 2024 |
| Galápagos, Ecuador | Protected-area entry fee | US$200 for foreign visitors over 12, US$100 under 12; half for Andean Community and Mercosur nationals | Park rangers at Baltra and San Cristóbal airports | In force |
Two cases are outside the table. Thailand's Finance Ministry has put a proposed 1,000-baht departure tax on hold, Travel Extra reported on 27 October, and a separate 450-baht arrival fee is not in force (our report on the Thai departure tax has the background). Amsterdam's coalition wants 20% by 2031, a plan to raise the Amsterdam tourist tax we covered in August, but the city's tax page lists 12.5%.
Why are tourist taxes rising?
Governments give two reasons: visitors use services residents pay for, and crowds need managing.
Edinburgh expects its levy to raise up to £50 million a year and has approved programmes worth more than £90 million over three years, the City of Edinburgh Council said. When New Zealand raised its IVL from NZ$35 to NZ$100, ministers said taxpayers already spent close to NZ$884 million a year on tourism and conservation, and that NZ$100 would generally be under 3 per cent of a visitor's spending there.
Housing is the other pressure. Since 1 April 2026, a quarter of Catalonia's tourist-tax revenue has been earmarked for housing policy, according to the Catalan tax agency. Barcelona was one of the cities hit by the overtourism protests across southern Europe in June.
Venice's access fee is designed to manage visitor flows, and 45,000 payments were registered for the first four days of the 2026 season, Sky TG24 reported. Japan says departure-tax revenue funds crowding and border-flow measures, attraction information and local tourism resources; our guide to Japan's tourist taxes also covers the prefectural lodging taxes.
In Paris, a 200% surcharge for Île-de-France Mobilités, the regional transport authority, makes up just over 60 per cent of every rate: €5.20 of the €8.45 four-star charge. Bhutan's Department of Tourism says SDF revenue helps fund free healthcare and education.
Is the tourist tax included in the hotel bill?
Not always in the price the client sees at booking. In most cities in our table the accommodation provider charges the tax, often as a separate line at check-out. The rules agents need:
- Paris: the host or platform must collect it during the stay, not at booking. Minors are exempt.
- Kyoto: guests pay at the property unless they already paid through a booking site or travel agent.
- Malta: the eco-contribution must be a separate invoice line and is not subject to VAT or commission.
- Barcelona: if the booking and the tax are paid when booking, the rate in force on the booking date applies, so prepaid stays booked before 1 April 2027 keep the current surcharge.
- Cardiff: bookings made from 28 September 2026 for stays from 1 April 2027 carry the levy, as do nights later added or moved into that period.
Entry levies are paid separately: with the visa or NZeTA (New Zealand), the visa application (Bhutan), online (Bali, Venice) or in the air fare (Japan).
How much do tourist taxes add to a trip? A worked example
Take two adults on a 10-night trip: three nights in a Paris four-star hotel, three in a Barcelona four-star and four in Amsterdam at €250 a night before VAT.
- Paris: €8.45 × 2 guests × 3 nights = €50.70
- Barcelona: (€3.40 regional + €5.00 city) × 2 × 3 = €50.40
- Amsterdam: 12.5% × €250 × 4 nights = €125.00
That comes to €226.10. Amsterdam costs most because it charges a percentage of the room rate, not a flat fee per guest.
The same couple spending three nights in Kyoto at ¥25,000 per person per night pays ¥1,000 each per night (¥6,000) plus ¥6,000 in departure tax: ¥12,000 in all.
Malta shows how fast this moves. Seven hotel nights for two cost €21 in eco-contribution today and would cost €112 at the planned 2027 rate.
What changes in 2027?
- 1 January: Malta's rate is set to rise to €8 a night in hotels and other collective accommodation (capped at €64 per person) and €10 in short lets (capped at €80), with new charges of €10 for cruise passengers who go ashore and re-board and €5 for Comino visitors, according to KPMG Malta's summary of the 26 October budget.
- Amsterdam: the city's draft 2027 budget would raise the tourist tax from 12.5% to 16%, NH Nieuws reported in September, subject to a city council vote.
- 1 April: Cardiff's levy starts. Barcelona's surcharge rises to €6 (€7 from 1 April 2028), and regional rates elsewhere in Catalonia go up, for example from €4.50 to €6 for five-star hotels.
- 31 August: Bhutan's discounted SDF expires. The government says it may discontinue the incentive after that date; no extension had appeared in its announcements by 1 November 2026.
For Venice, check the city's cda.ve.it portal for any 2027 dates before quoting day trips.
Frequently asked questions
Which countries charge tourist taxes in 2026?
Our table covers Spain (Barcelona), France (Paris), the Netherlands (Amsterdam), Italy (Venice), Scotland (Edinburgh), Malta, Japan, Indonesia (Bali), Bhutan, New Zealand and Ecuador (Galápagos), each checked on an official source on 1 November 2026. Cardiff in Wales follows on 1 April 2027. Thailand's proposed departure tax and arrival fee are not in force.
Is the tourist tax included in my hotel price?
Often not. Paris requires hosts to collect the tax during the stay rather than at booking, Kyoto asks guests to pay at the property unless they prepaid through a booking site or travel agent, and Malta's eco-contribution must appear as a separate invoice line. Check whether a quoted rate includes local taxes, and expect to pay at check-in or check-out.
How much is the Barcelona tourist tax in 2026?
From 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027, a Barcelona stay costs €12 per person per night in a five-star hotel, €8.40 in a four-star and €9.50 in a tourist flat, combining Catalonia's regional tax and the city's €5 surcharge. It applies to a maximum of seven nights, guests under 17 are exempt, and the surcharge rises to €6 on 1 April 2027.
Which tourist taxes are going up in 2027?
Malta's eco-contribution is set to rise from €1.50 to €8 a night in hotels and €10 in short lets on 1 January 2027, and Amsterdam has proposed 16%, up from 12.5%. On 1 April 2027, Barcelona's city surcharge goes from €5 to €6 and Cardiff's £1.30-a-night levy starts. Bhutan's discounted US$100 SDF is set to run until 31 August 2027.
Sources
- Agència Tributària de Catalunya, tourist tax rates and surcharges
- Ville de Paris, taxe de séjour rates 2027 (PDF)
- City of Edinburgh Council, Visitor Levy comes into effect
- Malta Tourism Authority, Environmental Contribution
- KPMG Malta, Budget 2027 highlights
- Japan Tourism Agency, International Tourist Tax rises to JPY 3,000 (PDF)
- City of Kyoto, accommodation tax from 1 March 2026 (PDF)
- New Zealand Department of Conservation, IVL increase
