From January, the Port of Lisbon will begin charging cruise ship operators arriving in Lisbon a city tourism tax of two euros per disembarking passenger.
According to the newspaper PublicTwo euros for each disembarked passenger will be paid by ship operators through the Janela Única Logística platform.
The information was provided to the newspaper by the Lisbon Port Authority (APL), which stated that it is finalizing the details of the procedure resulting from the protocol that will be signed with the Lisbon City Council (CML), which corresponds to additional annual fees. tax revenue of 1.2 million euros.
“At the moment, the conditions are created for the same [taxa] be implemented,” APL said, adding that it was “finalizing a protocol with the Lisbon City Council to regulate the collection of a tourist tax, similar to what happens in the hotel industry.”
“We are currently finalizing the CML document and implementing procedures internally to ensure that the fee is collected from passengers who make a stopover to visit the city,” APL told the newspaper.
The Lisbon Port Authority also told Público that operators were already informed “several months ago” that the levy would occur in 2024, as communicated through the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the representative association of cruise ship owners.
APL also ensured that no commission would be charged in 2023 because sales of cruise activities were made in advance.
“Only coming into force in 2024, it made it possible to include the value of the value associated with the tourist tax at the time of sale,” explained APL Público.
On December 5, the mayor of Lisbon deplored the resistance of cruise operators to collect a tourist tax on passengers disembarking in the city, and said that if they did not do so, it would make entry difficult.
At a meeting of the Lisbon Municipal Assembly to present and respond to the work of the municipal executive between September and October, MP Simonetta Luz Afonso asked the mayor a question about the collection of a tourist tax from cruise ship passengers.
In response, the mayor said it was a “common fight for everyone” to ensure that cruise ships pay a tourist tax of two euros per night, indicating that the annual amount that would be levied would be around one million euros.
In the City of Lisbon, a tourist tax began to apply in January 2016 for overnight stays of national tourists (including Lisbon residents) and foreigners in hotels or local accommodation facilities. Initially it was one euro per night, but since January 2019 it has increased to two euros.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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