Lagos Council intends to impose the tourist tax next year, to the dismay and annoyance of the municipality’s hotels and Alojamento Local establishments which will have the task of adding the tax to their customers’ bills and explaining why the supplement exists.
The Council president, Joaquina Matos, says that, “it will be good for the region to have a reinforcement of revenues," that helps the local authorities in, "the efforts they make to ensure good conditions for all residents and tourists."
Matos states that because the Algarve is a tourist destination and this is its main economic activity, municipalities have to make an additional investment in areas such as water supply, cleaning, waste collection, cleaning beaches and the maintenance of green spaces, which penalises their finances.
The implementation of this tourist tax “will be a good aid to Council finances to cover these types of expense,” says the Lagos president.
The Algarve mayors’ association, AMAL, claims to have carried out a study into the effects of the tourist tax and came up with the rules and amounts that will be charged.
The mayors votes in favour of the tax but now, each council Assembly must say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to its implementation, leading to a divided region with some Councils charging and other, not.
The Lagos mayor’s desire to impose the tourist tax may come to nothing but the end result across the region will be inequality, irritation and another reason for cost-conscious families to holiday elsewhere.
