The city council of Peniche, which is located in Portugal, has granted its approval to a new regulation.
As per this bill, the city is aiming to implement a tourist tax of one euro for overnight stays in order to offset the rising number of visitors arriving in the Leiria district.
The council took a vote during its most recent Chamber meeting and was able to receive unanimous approval from all the members.
Consequently, once the green light was given, the city council took to setting up an appointment for submission to the Municipal Assembly.
Tourist tax
As explained by sources, before the tax in Peniche can become effective, the tourist tax regulation, which has been set at one euro, will have to undergo a consultation from the Municipal Assembly.
Once the Municipal Assembly is approved, the regulation will be presented to the public for a consultation period lasting 30 days.
This has been clearly outlined by the city council in the proposal, which was handed over to the Lusa agency.
Moreover, the Peniche Chamber reported that in the last couple of years, especially after the lifting of the coronavirus restrictions, it has witnessed a significant surge in the number of visitors to the municipality.
As a result, the members of the Chamber see it fit to implement a tourist tax in order to curb overtourism.
The council of Peniche went on to say that the regulation has been devised on the principle of fair distribution of public costs.
Thus, the bill will aid in ensuring that the operational costs incurred to generate utilities for visitors are allocated through the tourist tax budget.
Peniche Chamber
On this note, Peniche Chamber further stated that implementing a municipal tax on tourists will aid in easing the environmental and social strain on the infrastructure of the municipality.
In this manner, the city hopes to maintain the competitiveness of the region.
Where the municipal tourist tax is concerned, the Peniche Chamber has stated that this will only be applied to overnight stays.
However, it will cover a wide range of accommodations, including apartment hotels, resorts, hotels, tourist villages, guesthouses, tourism enterprises, local accommodations, caravan parks, and camping.
Just a couple of months ago, another region in the country decided to introduce a night tax of €2.
Algarve announced that it would be implementing this tourist tax over the summer season, which would help generate around €300,000 as yearly revenue.
Meanwhile, in the off-peak season, which includes the period from November to March, the tourist tax will be reduced to €1 per night.
Municipalities
Previously, many municipalities in Portugal decided to implement a tourist tax and collectively managed to generate a sum of €21.4 million as revenue in the first four months of the year.
From the collected amount, €13.6 million came from the city of Lisbon in tax collection.
As per reports provided by Portugal, visitor arrivals in the country have gone up by 41% from January to April, as compared to the corresponding period of 2022.
