20 hours ago
Cruise passengers to face tourist tax in major holiday destination
Travellers, including cruise passengers are set to face a new tourist tax in a major European holiday destination.
Norway has announced that local governments will be able to charge a three per cent levy on overnight stays and cruise ship visitors.
The tax is due to launch in the summer of 2026 and has been designed in response to over tourism in the Nordic country.
Norway saw a record-breaking 38.6 million people book accommodation there in 2024, a 4.2 per cent rise in visitors since the previous year.
The destination is expected to grow in popularity as tourists seek cooler summer holidays away from heatwaves in southern Europe.
As the upcoming tourist fee is a voluntary tax, local areas can choose whether they want to introduce a charge or not.
The local authorities that do introduce the tax can use the money to invest in services such as hiking trails and parking facilities.
Cecilie Myrseth, Norway's trade and industry minister, told Norwegian broadcaster NRK: 'It is not the case that we have year-round tourism throughout the country, but in some places, there are parts of the year that are particularly demanding, and the expenses that the residents have to pay for are particularly high.'
Cruise passengers who visit for the day weren't originally included in the tax plans but have been added after criticism over the impact of cruise ships on the environment.
Norway welcomed almost six million cruise ship passengers in 2024, with many travelling to explore the country's fjords.
Alesund, Bergen and Stavanger are the three-most visited cruise ports in Norway with Alesund hosting more than 650,000 passengers in 2024.
And Norway isn't the only European country to have introduced a tax on cruise passengers.
Amsterdam charges cruise passengers a 'day tripper tax' while in Barcelona cruise holidaymakers are charged for overnight stays.
Lisbon, Venice and Majorca also have tourist taxes on cruise passengers. Taxes are usually collected by the port authorities or may be included in the price of a cruise.
In other cruise news, people have been left shocked after a cruise worker revealed how much he earned working onboard.
Brit Chris Wong has worked at sea for the company since 2013, regularly posting content online about his life on the ocean waves.
This week he announced his current contract will be his last, as he sails into new waters in 'the next phase of my life'.
In a video Chris shows his followers two two-week pay slips. The first sum is $2,890.21 (£2,145.52), while the second, based solely on additional earnings such as tips and commission, is $1,450.09 (£1076.50).
The grand total for his work in January this year comes to $4,340.30 (£3,222.93).
He explains that he's on 'fantastic money', saying: 'For me to earn something like that in the UK, it's actually quite difficult at this point in time, with the way inflation is and everything'
