Mexico rolls back its controversial new tax on cruise ship visitors
A tourism tax was rocking the boats in the cruise industry, imposing a charge on passengers.
A $42 immigration levy for every passenger on cruise ships that dock in Mexico was voted in by the country's congress back in December, The Associated Press reported at the time.
The Non-Resident Duty was to begin collection on Jan. 1 of this year.
Then, due to strong criticism, the tax was pushed back to July.
Now the tax has been dropped to $5 and will be implemented on July 1, the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) confirmed to Fox News Digital.
"On behalf of the FCCA and our member cruise lines – representing over 95% of cruise capacity in the Caribbean and Latin America – we thank the Federal Government of Mexico for working with us to reach an 'in transit fee' agreement," the FCCA told Fox News digital.
The association added that the move "safeguards cruise tourism to the country and aims to enhance the benefits for local communities whose livelihoods depend on it."
The fee will gradually increase to $10 on Aug. 1, 2026, then will jump to $15 on July 1, 2027, through July 2028.
Starting August 1, 2028, the fee will rise to $21.
Before the tax delay was announced, Fox News Digital spoke with Stewart Chiron, a Miami-based cruise industry expert known as "The Cruise Guy."
He anticipated that some sort of "amicable solution" would be made between cruise industry executives following the initial tax announcement.
He also said that cruise passengers may opt "to skip" visiting Mexico if they had to pay an additional fee.
About 16.9 million passengers from the United States cruised in 2023, according to the Cruise Lines International Association.
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