Lisbon (Portugal) to levy a tourist tax on cruise ships from 2024

20-12-23

The Administration of the Port of Lisbon (APL) will impose a tourist tax on cruise ships starting next January 2024. The Lisbon port authority will charge a tax of two euros for each passenger disembarking in the Portuguese capital.

According to information published by the Portuguese newspaper Público, the shipping companies will be responsible for paying the total amount of the levy, set through an agreement signed between the APL and the Lisbon City Council. With this measure, the city expects to obtain additional revenues of around 1.2 million euros per year.

"At the moment, the conditions for the levy to be applied are met," the APL has indicated, adding that it is "finalizing the protocol to be signed with the Lisbon City Council, in order to regulate the collection of the tourist tax, similar to the one applied to the hotel industry [also of two euros]."

The mayor of the Portuguese capital, Carlos Moedas, already denounced last December 5 the resistance of cruise operators to levy a tax on passengers disembarking in the city. For this reason, he threatened the shipping companies with making it difficult for the ships to enter the port facilities if they did not agree to the collection of the tax.