US Travel Taxes By Country
With Japan following many other countries in implementing a tourism tax, a mapping of every country with some form of the policy has been created. The policy appears most popular in Europe and Southeast Asia, both major tourism hubs.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism and hospitality industries have struggled to recover from years of travel restrictions. Tourism taxes provide greater funding to areas with high visitation levels, but only countries with regular tourism can afford to implement them.
When mapped, the data shows that two primary clusters of countries have tourism taxes. In Europe, 14 countries have a tourism tax of some form, including France, Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom, which are the first, second, fourth, and seventh most popular destinations worldwide.
Many countries have a partial tourism tax that only applies to specific cities or areas most popular with visitors. For example, Spain has a specific tax rate for Barcelona, while Belgium has a set tax for Brussels. This means that the country still raises money from tourists in busy areas without discouraging visitors from going to less popular places, supporting the economy there.
The other major region where tourism taxes are prevalent is Southeast Asia, a popular travel destination for Western tourists due to the strength of its currencies. Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia all have some form of tourism tax to capitalize on their popularity, though Malaysia is the only country in the region to have a full nationwide tax.
Japan and New Zealand also have a nationwide tax, as both countries have prioritized preserving historical areas and maintaining tourist infrastructure. The United States has tourism costs for travelers from certain parts of the world. States like Texas have high hotel taxes for travelers. Houston’s hotel tax rate is one of the highest in the world, at 17 percent. The U.S. is the third most popular tourist destination in the world.
Other countries are exploring the possibility of tourist taxes as international travel becomes more accessible again after the pandemic. The implementation of tourism taxes is expected to continue as countries look for ways to fund tourism-related infrastructure and services.