Dive into the Hottest Summer Travel Destinations of 2025: Cruise Specialist Reacts, Gives Cruising Tips
Europe's tourist hotspots reinforce financial measures, with Norway now imposing a tourist tax to counteract the impact of visitors.
Travel connoisseur Colleen Kelly gives lowdown on sizzling summer travel destinations '25 and offers pearls of wisdom for cruise enthusiasts.
As European locales wrestle with tourist influx, they're raising taxes to control the mass of wanderers inundating their cities.
The newest European country to jump on board: Norway. The Scandinavian nation has taken a stab at a 3% tourist tax, allowing particular cities to implement a levy on overnight stays in tourist-thick zones, Euronews reports.
The bill, passed Thursday, allows the tax percentage to be adjusted based on season.
Hawaii-style Green Fee Introduced for Tourists in Norway
Similar to other popular tourist havens, Norway plans to allocate tourist levies to fund infrastructure such as bathroom facilities, parking spaces, and other pressing infrastructural projects.
Lustrous landscapes, hiking trails, and opportunities to experience the fjords and mountains are a few lures drawing vacationers to Norway, according to Visit Norway's official site.
Miss Myrseth, Norway's minister of trade and industry, celebrated the "historic agreement" in a Facebook post, praising "an industry that creates housing, happiness, good experiences, value creation, and important jobs all over the country."
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Tourists are often captivated by Norway for its breathtaking Northern Lights spectacle.
Tourist taxes have been a go-to solution for managing overpopulated vacation destinations. Our Digital website previously covered locations that have taken a similar route:
- The Canary Islands, a group of Spanish islands off the continent of Africa, are working on imposing a tax to fund the construction of projects catering to the multitudes of tourists.
- Greek officials are contemplating a $22 tax on tour boats visiting Santorini or Mykonos.
- Venice, Italy, took the lead with a pilot program in 2024 that charged day-trippers $5.17 (5 euros) for access and are now considering extending the tax.
- They're not the only city raising entry fees: the Maldives in South Asia, globally recognized for its crystalline waters and luxurious resorts, increased a flight tax targeted at tourists departing the island nation.
The luxury of cruising through Norway's dazzling landscapes may require additional contributions to the economy due to the implementation of a tourist tax, much like other popular travel destinations such as the Canary Islands and Venice. This tax revenue could potentially fund infrastructure projects that cater to the increasing popular lifestyle of tourists, enhancing their overall experiences.
