Flushed with the success with its 'tourist tax,' Lisbon council is to decide whether or not to raise the amount charged per night.
In 2016, the tourist tax in Lisbon relived tourists of €13.5 million. As councils are greedy for money that can be raised without upsetting voters, the amount charged tax will be reassessed on January 1st, 2019 and is unlikely to remain the same.
This delay at least means no change to the €1 fee next year but the inevitable rise in 2019 adds an easy-to-raise amount to tourists’ budgets.
The Lisbon council plan is to evaluate the implementation of the tourist tax and only then make a decision on changes to the value.
Lisbon's Left Bloc councillors want the rate to rise to €2 a night - the value that Rui Moreira, mayor of Oporto, wants to charge to tourists visiting his city so he too can raise money for investments in hygiene, urban transport and public transport – all of which are the responsibility of councils and government.
In Lisbon, the 2017 income should be €15 million. The council has promised to spend this on improving the city from a tourism perspective.
The tourist tax has been avoided in the Algarve, many councils being sensitive to customers’ holiday budgets and the negative PR that inevitably will accompany the imposition of any such additional burden in a cost-sensitive market.
