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Amsterdam to raise its tourist tax this year
Amsterdam's tax hike is said to help maintain public facilities.
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Typical canal-side cityscape of Amsterdam, opposite the 17th-century headquarters of the Dutch East India Company, now used by the University of Amsterdam. (Shutterstock/File)
Travelers who wish to visit the city of Amsterdam this year may need to prepare a bigger budget.
Starting from January, the city is implementing an additional charge on top of the existing 7 percent tourist tax. The charge also applies to hotels, apartments, campsites and rented private accommodations such as Airbnb.
Hotels will charge 3 euros (US$3.34) per night, per person, while those who want to stay in camping sites have to pay an extra 1 euro per person, per night.
Additionally, the tax rate for rented private accommodations has increased by 10 percent.
Read also: Amsterdam removes iconic ‘I Amsterdam’ sign due to overcrowding
The same regulation is applied to sea and river cruise operators, as well. They will be charged 8 euro for each passenger who only stops over and isn’t a resident of the city.
Though Amsterdam has been threatened by overcrowding, a representative from the Amsterdam city council told CNN.com the reasons behind the tax hike and scaring off tourists was not one of them.
“Visitors will contribute more to the high costs of keeping the city safe and clean, and of keeping the public place like pavements, quays, bridges and streets in a good state,” said the representative.
According to lonelyplanet.com, Amsterdam is the latest addition to a list of cities that have implemented a tourist tax, such as Paris and Rome. Another city to follow suit this summer is Venice, Italy. (wir/wng)
