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A Spanish port city has introduced a new tourist tax to be paid by both cruise passengers and visitors staying overnight.
The local government in Vigo, one of the most popular stops for cruises visiting the northwest of Spain, has approved a new tax that will charge tourists up to €2 (£1.70) per night.
Tourists will not be affected this summer, as the tax is set to be introduced in October 2026, at which point the charge will be rolled out in stages.
Until 1 July 2027, the tax will only apply to the first two nights of stay, but after that date, the tax will apply to a maximum of five nights for each stay.
Tourists’ cruises that dock at Vigo’s ports will not be charged immediately, but the nightly tax will come into force on 1 July 2027.
Those who have booked a five-star hotel will be charged the maximum amount, at €2 (£1.70) per night, while three and four-star stays will charge €1.60 (£1.40).
Two and one-star accommodation, pensioners and cruise ship passengers will be charged the nightly price of €1.20 (£1).
Hostels, tourist camps, rural accommodation, tourist apartments and houses will pay the least at €0.80 (70p).
The tax will not be applied to the citizens of Vigo, while other visitors may be able to apply for exemptions, such as visiting the city for health reasons, competing in an athletic event or by staying in social housing.
The tax will also not be paid by young people, those with certain disabilities or those visiting Vigo on subsidised stays by social programmes.
The city has become the latest tourist destination in Spain to introduce a tax for visitors. Catalonia, which includes the popular city of Barcelona, and the Balearic Islands all have similar taxes in place.
Barcelona now has one of the highest tourist taxes in Europe, due to visitors paying both a regional tourist tax and the city tax.
Both were hiked on 1 April, meaning visitors now pay between €10-15 (£9-£13) per person per night, depending on their accommodation.
Read more: Holiday hotspot to charge visitors up to £13 a night in tax hike