Visitors to Iceland will soon have to fork out a fee in order to enter the country, as a new tourism tax is on the cards.
Tourism tax to be implemented
The Icelandic government recently revealed plans to charge international tourists a tax to visit the nation.
The tourism tax comes as part of efforts to support climate change as well as sustainability goals, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.
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In a recent TV interview on Bloomberg, whilst attending the United Nations Climate Ambition Summit 2023 in New York City, Iceland’s Prime Minister KatrÃn Jakobsdóttir, said that the fee tax will not be high one.
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“Tourism has really grown exponentially in Iceland in the last decade and that obviously is not just creating effects on the climate.” Jakobsdóttir said in the interview.
“We have announced that we are putting increased taxes on tourism in Iceland. Not high taxes to begin with, but we are talking about city taxes, etcetera, for people who stay in Iceland.” Jakobsdóttir added.
It has not yet been revealed how much or when the tourism tax will come into effect.
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Venice’s new entry fee
In similar news, the Italian city of Venice will also be introducing a tourism fee for visitors.
According to Schengenvisa.info, the Mayor of Venice, Luigi Brugnaro, has confirmed that Venice’s authorities have decided to impose a €5 (R100) fee for foreign visitors planning to enter the city.
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The good news, however, is that this new fee will only be implemented as an experiment and only on certain days.
The city’s authorities will choose the days which they predict to be busiest, such as holiday weekends and peak Carnival periods.
The fee will be introduced in spring 2024 (March 2024).
