Cruise passengers to be confronted with tourist tax on a large holiday destination

Travelers, including cruise passengers, will face a new tourist tax in a large European holiday destination.

Norway has announced that local authorities will be able to charge a three percent levy for overnight stays and visitors to the cruise ship.

The tax will be launched in the summer of 2026 and is designed in response to about tourism in the Nordic country.

Norway saw a record -breaking 38.6 million people book accommodation there in 2024, an increase of 4.2 percent in visitors since the previous year.

The destination is expected to grow in popularity as tourists look for cooler summer vacation, away from heat waves in South Europe.

Since the coming tourist reimbursement is a voluntary tax, local areas can choose whether they want to introduce costs or not.

The local authorities that introduce the tax can use the money to invest in services such as hiking trails and parking facilities.

Cecilie Myrseth, the Norway of the Trade and Industry Minister, said the Norwegian broadcaster NRK: “It is not the case that we have tourism throughout the country all year round, but in some places there are parts of the year that are particularly demanding, and the costs that the residents have to pay are particularly high.”

Norway has announced that local authorities will be able to charge a three percent levy for overnight stays and visitors to the cruise ship

Alesund (shown above), Bergen and Stavanger are the three most visited cruise ports in Norway, where Alesund organizes more than 650,000 passengers in 2024

Cruise passengers who visit the day were originally not included in the tax plans, but were added after criticism of the impact of cruise ships on the environment.

Norway welcomed nearly six million cruise ship passengers in 2024, with many traveling to explore the fjords of the country.

Alesund, Bergen and Stavanger are the three most visited cruise ports in Norway, where Alesund organizes more than 650,000 passengers in 2024.

And Norway is not the only European country that has introduced a tax on cruise passengers.

Amsterdam charges cruise passengers a ‘day tripper tax’ while in Barcelona Cruise Holiday makers are charged for overnight stays.

Lisbon, Venice and Mallorca also have tourist tax on cruise passengers. Taxes are usually collected by the port authorities or can be included in the price of a cruise.

In other cruise news, people were left shocked after a cruise employee revealed how much he earned on board.

Brit Chris Wong has been working at sea for the company since 2013Regularly online content about his life on the ocean waves.

Norway welcomed nearly six million cruise ship passengers in 2024, with many traveling to explore the fjords of the country

This week he announced that his current contract will be his last while he sails to new waters in ‘The Next Phase of My Life’.

In a video, Chris shows his followers two payment briefs of two weeks. The first amount is $ 2,890.21 (£ 2,145.52), while the second, exclusively based on extra income such as tips and committee, is $ 1,450.09 (£ 1076.50).

The final total for his work in January this year comes to $ 4,340.30 (£ 3,222.93).

He explains that he has ‘fantastic money’ and says: ‘For me to earn something like that in the UK, it is actually quite difficult at the moment, with the way in which inflation is and everything’