City taxes for tourists

Dots1982 · 15-01-2019 10:54pm #1

Hate these, “hello I’m a tourist whose chosen your city to stay in while I support your tourism economy” ... “really, well you bastard we’re not going to let you get away with that, we’re charging you 5% on your hotel”

It’s just a ripoff and I don’t see any reason put forward for it. Fair play to Ireland for not having them.

ArchXStanton · 15-01-2019 10:57pm

Dots1982 wrote: »

Hate these, “hello I’m a tourist whose chosen your city to stay in while I support your tourism economy” ... “really, well you bastard we’re not going to let you get away with that, we’re charging you 5% on your hotel”

It’s just a ripoff and I don’t see any reason put forward for it. Fair play to Ireland for not having them.

Just back from Rome were they had them, 36 euro for 3 nights for 3 of us

Damien360 · 15-01-2019 10:57pm

I had to pay it in Basel, Switzerland. It was charged per night. Honestly don't remember the charge. It is on the bill seperate from the hotel charges and I couldn't see an issue with it. I presume it goes towards water, services etc provided by the local council.

Dots1982 · 15-01-2019 10:58pm

Damien360 wrote: »

I had to pay it in Basel, Switzerland. It was charged per night. Honestly don't remember the charge. It is on the bill seperate from the hotel charges and I couldn't see an issue with it. I presume it goes towards water, services etc provided by the local council.

Hotel pays those charges already

ratracer · 15-01-2019 10:59pm

It seems to be the norm everywhere, I’m really surprised our vulture politicians haven’t nailed it on yet....

Humphrey BoaGart · 15-01-2019 11:08pm

Dots1982 wrote: »

Hate these, “hello I’m a tourist whose chosen your city to stay in while I support your tourism economy” ... “really, well you bastard we’re not going to let you get away with that, we’re charging you 5% on your hotel”

It’s just a ripoff and I don’t see any reason put forward for it. Fair play to Ireland for not having them.

It's a perfectly fair tax. Tourists put a great strain on local services and infrastructure.

It should be brought into Dublin, too.

boege · 15-01-2019 11:11pm

Pretty much standard across Europe. Mostly they are levied on a per night stay and included in hotel bills. Big debate in Venice at present on levying a visitor tax to deal with the cruise ships which unload up to 5000 passengers at a time with no overnight stay.

The 'theory' is that they are levied to improve tourist facilities.

Ipso · 15-01-2019 11:45pm

boege wrote: »

Pretty much standard across Europe. Mostly they are levied on a per night stay and included in hotel bills. Big debate in Venice at present on levying a visitor tax to deal with the cruise ships which unload up to 5000 passengers at a time with no overnight stay.

The 'theory' is that they are levied to improve tourist facilities.

Yes, coke and hoors.

boege · 16-01-2019 1:14am

Ipso wrote: »

Yes, coke and hoors.

Hence why you need a tourist tax in Dublin

https://www.independent.ie/sport/you-cant-get-good-cocaine-in-this-town-it-was-a-joke-based-on-fact-30343486.html

whisky_galore · 16-01-2019 3:35am

Humphrey BoaGart wrote: »

It's a perfectly fair tax. Tourists put a great strain on local services and infrastructure.

It should be brought into Dublin, too.

Maybe to support the free entry attractions like national museum, the rip off places like the Guinness storehouse can **** off. Of course being Ireland it'd probably go to fund any random thing at all.

Twenty Grand · 16-01-2019 3:41am

Humphrey BoaGart wrote: »

It's a perfectly fair tax. Tourists put a great strain on local services and infrastructure.

It should be brought into Dublin, too.

They do pay for them you know, and definitely the same or more than the average punter.

MarkY91 · 16-01-2019 10:03am

It's fairly common indeed. I'm shocked that our government hasn't implement this "tax" yet.

Although, hotel prices are already stupidly high for average accomodation in an average city. Cities like Paris can justify their hotel prices...it's PARIS.

CucaFace · 16-01-2019 10:08am

If you asked me a few years ago I would have said no way should such a tax be even contemplated, but now I'm in favour of it.

The Dublin housing crisis is being directly impacted by the increase in the tourist numbers and any such tax should be ring fenced to address this issue (I now that would never happen though).

Airbnb's are taking up a lot of the stock in the city and also now the little building capacity we have is being used to just build hotels (along with student accom and office blocks), all to cater for the increased tourist numbers arriving here so tourism while on the one hand is great, does have a negative affect also which perhaps a tax could help to reduce.

ednwireland · 16-01-2019 10:17am

was charged a tourist tax in bialowieza poland near the belarus border if its fairly nominal (i think it was around 14 euro for 2 of us for 5 nights) and it goes to funding local services i dont have much of a problem with it.

when you see some of the spend on fixing narrow roads and widening them for tour buses in donegal might be an idea.

bigpink · 16-01-2019 10:18am

Surprised it’s not in Dublin as it’s a rip off already for tourists

Feisar · 16-01-2019 10:20am

I think charging tourists is silly but don't get me started on the €10 Knock Airport charges you to leave.

bigpink · 16-01-2019 10:47am

Feisar wrote: »

I think charging tourists is silly but don't get me started on the €10 Knock Airport charges you to leave.

Knock Airport 10 euro to leave?

markpb · 16-01-2019 11:04am

bigpink wrote: »

Knock Airport 10 euro to leave?

They have an airport development levy which, in any other airport, would be part of your ticket and paid to the airline but for some reason, this doesn't happen in Knock so there's a €10 charge that has to be paid in the airport.

Paulzx · 16-01-2019 11:10am

Humphrey BoaGart wrote: »

It's a perfectly fair tax. Tourists put a great strain on local services and infrastructure.

It should be brought into Dublin, too.

Yet, all these places actively encourage tourists to visit and many of their economies would flop if there were no tourists visiting.

A tourist tax is nothing more than a gouging exercise to extract more money from visitors.

If cities were that worried about the "damage" that tourists do they should stop encouraging them to visit. I'm not saying that over excessive numbers of tourists don't create problems but it is hypocrisy to then charge a tax for this while still allowing and actively courting unlimited numbers

bigpink · 16-01-2019 11:21am

markpb wrote: »

They have an airport development levy which, in any other airport, would be part of your ticket and paid to the airline but for some reason, this doesn't happen in Knock so there's a €10 charge that has to be paid in the airport.

What if people refuse or can’t pay?

Feisar · 16-01-2019 11:49am

bigpink wrote: »

What if people refuse or can’t pay?

I don't know, it's an odd one though.

Hotblack Desiato · 16-01-2019 11:53am

markpb wrote: »

They have an airport development levy which, in any other airport, would be part of your ticket and paid to the airline but for some reason, this doesn't happen in Knock so there's a €10 charge that has to be paid in the airport.

Crazy stuff, but then building Knock airport in the first place was crazy

ohnonotgmail · 16-01-2019 11:53am

bigpink wrote: »

What if people refuse or can’t pay?

then they dont leave.

Humphrey BoaGart · 16-01-2019 11:59am

Twenty Grand wrote: »

They do pay for them you know, and definitely the same or more than the average punter.

No they don't. It's the people who live in the City/Area year round who pay for them.

Cienciano · 16-01-2019 12:00pm

Humphrey BoaGart wrote: »

It's a perfectly fair tax. Tourists put a great strain on local services and infrastructure.

It should be brought into Dublin, too.

Every penny a tourist spends is literally money brought into the country. They'll spend far more on meals, travel, accommodation and shopping than the average person too. Tourists should be encouraged, not poxy taxed.

pauliebdub · 16-01-2019 12:11pm

It's always only mentioned as I'm checking out of a hotel. I wonder what would happen if the visitor refused to pay?

Sugar Free · 16-01-2019 1:09pm

Damien360 wrote: »

I had to pay it in Basel, Switzerland. It was charged per night. Honestly don't remember the charge. It is on the bill seperate from the hotel charges and I couldn't see an issue with it. I presume it goes towards water, services etc provided by the local council.

One thing it goes towards in Basel is your mobility ticket, which gives you completely free public transport in Basel and the surrounding area during your stay.

Dots1982 · 16-01-2019 1:16pm

Humphrey BoaGart wrote: »

It's a perfectly fair tax. Tourists put a great strain on local services and infrastructure.

It should be brought into Dublin, too.

So by that rational Dublin would be better off without tourists which is 100% untrue.

Tacitus Kilgore · 16-01-2019 1:19pm

Hotblack Desiato wrote: »

Crazy stuff, but then building Knock airport in the first place was crazy

Didn't NATO donate the dough, my boy?

ohnonotgmail · 16-01-2019 1:21pm

Tacitus Kilgore wrote: »

Didn't NATO donate the dough, my boy?

No.

Twenty Grand · 16-01-2019 1:34pm

Humphrey BoaGart wrote: »

No they don't. It's the people who live in the City/Area year round who pay for them.

I don't really understand. Tourists pay to come here. They pay their hotel or whatever, they pay to eat out, to travel around, to see the sights etc etc. Holiday are expensive.

But you say that other people pay? I don't understand?

Humphrey BoaGart · 16-01-2019 2:26pm

Dots1982 wrote: »

So by that rational Dublin would be better off without tourists which is 100% untrue.

I never said that. If a tourism tax is such a bad idea, why do so many cities have it?

Humphrey BoaGart · 16-01-2019 2:31pm

Twenty Grand wrote: »

I don't really understand. Tourists pay to come here. They pay their hotel or whatever, they pay to eat out, to travel around, to see the sights etc etc. Holiday are expensive.

But you say that other people pay? I don't understand?

Many of the museums, sites etc are free for tourists. These are paid for by taxpayers.
Tourists are also putting great strain on accommodation with AirBnB, etc.
Why do you think so many cities have taxes on tourists?

Twenty Grand · 16-01-2019 2:51pm

Humphrey BoaGart wrote: »

Many of the museums, sites etc are free for tourists. These are paid for by taxpayers.
Tourists are also putting great strain on accommodation with AirBnB, etc.
Why do you think so many cities have taxes on tourists?

But they're free for everyone. I'd say there's more Irish people going through the doors than tourists. I've been in the national museum a dozen times in my life, probably 3 or 4 on school tours.
Even if we had no tourists these places would still be open. And they're spending money in the museum shops and cafes too.
You can also argue that we wouldn't have museums of such quality without tourism. Think of the Wild Atlantic Want, Ring of Kerry etc. Also theres plenty of paid in sites, like Blarney which wouldn't be half as good without the busses of Americans queuing up to kiss the stone.

I understand the AirBnB argument, but tourism is definitely a new positive for Ireland no matter what way you you look at it.

Dots1982 · 16-01-2019 7:16pm

Humphrey BoaGart wrote: »

I never said that. If a tourism tax is such a bad idea, why do so many cities have it?

I never said they were a bad idea. I said they were a rip-off.

Cities do it because they it’s an easy source of income as tourists are normally well to do so won’t mind paying.

I’m complaining about it, still going to pay it when I go to cities that have it. It’s unlikely to make or break my holiday plans. It’s just clear it’s a ripoff to levy tourists when they are there supporting your city financially.

The point you made about it being a response to tourists being a burden to cities was called out as illogical and nonsense.

City taxes for tourists

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