You will have to pay more. The city of Amsterdam (Netherlands) will increase its daily tourist tax for tourists in 2024, the city announced in a statement published on 3 October, following the deliberations of the city council.
In order to finance the budget for social assistance in the Dutch capital, the municipality has decided to increase the tourist tax rate for the year 2024. Currently set at 7% of the cost of an overnight stay in hotels or campsites and 10% in Airbnbs or vacation rentals, the tax will increase to 12.5%.
A tax reassessed at 21.80 euros per night on average
"With an average rate of €175 per person, this means that the tourist tax will increase from €15.25 to €21.80 per night" from January, the Amsterdam City Hall said. "The tax for cruise ship passengers will increase from €8 to €11 per visitor per day," the municipality said.
This tax was introduced in 2019 in response to the ever-increasing arrival of cruise ships in the ports of the Dutch capital. To combat their presence, the city council decided in July to close a major cruise ship terminal in the city centre.
"Many people in Amsterdam and Weespers are still struggling to keep their heads above water due to high inflation. (...) In 2024, the costs for residents will not increase. On the other hand, the tourist tax will increase: visitors will thus contribute to financing the City's missions. This allows us to deal with the consequences of overtourism and to allocate additional resources to keeping the streets clean and solving acute problems in neighbourhoods and districts," explained Hester van Buren, Deputy Mayor for Finance.
VIDEO. Van with nine tourists falls into canal in Amsterdam
The municipality of the country's largest city has implemented several measures in recent months to restore tranquillity to the residents of its historic centre, such as banning cannabis smoking on the streets of its Red Light District and launching a campaign to dissuade British tourists from travelling to Amsterdam solely to consume alcohol and drugs.