The Norwegian authorities have announced that the government has decided to give cities the right to introduce “visitor contributions” known as tourist taxes amid the increasing tourism in the country.
The aim of this measure is to help finance tourism-related public goods and services where the use increases with the number of visitors. However, a final decision on the matter has yet to be made as only a bill has been submitted for consultation so far, Schengen.News reports.
Commenting on the government’s decision to give such a right to municipalities, the Norwegian Minister for Business Cecilie Myrseth said that visitor taxes have been required by several municipalities that register a high number of visitors for a long time.
The same stressed that this will be a win-win situation for both visitors and local communities where there are large numbers of visitors, especially during the high season, and noted that the new contribution will have a significant impact.
Introduction of Measure Will Be Voluntary & All Forms of Accommodation Will Be Included
As the Ministry of Industry of Norway explains, once the bill gets approved, the introduction of the new measure will be voluntary. This means that each Norwegian municipality will get to choose whether they want to implement such a measure or not.
The Ministry further highlighted that the money gathered from this measure can only be used to finance public goods, such as improving toilets, walking paths, and information kiosks, among others.
In addition to the above-mentioned, the authorities said that the visitor contribution should cover all forms of accommodation.
Minister Myrseth said that it is important for every form of accommodation to be included in the measure to ensure that competition between accommodation services is affected as little as possible.
Once the bill gets approved and municipalities choose to move on with the measure, the visitor contribution will be imposed on those who offer accommodation against payment or third parties who handle payments.
However, this does not mean that visitors will not be affected since the measure will be imposed on those offering accommodation. The visitors will be affected indirectly as it is believed that the cost will be passed on to them, as these types of tourist taxes are, in general, incorporated into the price of accommodation.
Source: https://schengen.news/norways-cities-may-soon-introduce-tourist-taxes-to-strengthen-tourism-infrastructure/
