A implementation of the tourist tax on cruise passengers disembarking in Lisbon, which began to be charged at the beginning of this year when purchasing trips, will come into effect from this Monday, April 1st.
Cruise passengers started paying the fee when purchasing trips, included in the tourist package, on the first day of this year. Even so, APL – Administration of the Port of Lisbon explained, at the time, that there were technical issues to be resolved, including the adaptation of computer systems, and that some packages for 2024 had already been sold, so the collection was scheduled to take effect. for April 1st.
The fee has a “single value” of two euros, applied in advance during the sale, regardless of whether passengers stay on the ships for more than one night. It is calculated, according to the Lisbon City Council (CML), “per passenger who disembarks from a cruise ship in transit, at the cruise ship terminals located in Lisbon”, as long as they are over 13 years old.
Cruise operators were informed “some time in advance” so that they could introduce the corresponding value into their tariffs, so those who did not have the opportunity to reflect this cost to the passenger “will have to assume the amount to pay for the fee”, said the Administration of the Port of Lisbon.
Regarding the charge since January, APL stated that “it is not yet possible to quantify the number of tourist packages sold including this fee”.
The charge “is carried out using the JUL – Janela Única Logística platform, an ecosystem for the digitalization of ports and logistics at a national level”, used for all actions involving a ship call, be it passengers or cargo. This platform allows the connection between all participants in the port operation, in a dematerialized way, and includes the different national authorities. The tool has already been working “for a few years”, including for issuing invoices.
Remember that the tourist tax in Lisbon began to be applied in January 2016 on overnight stays by national tourists (including Lisbon residents) and foreigners in hotels or local accommodation units. Initially it was one euro per night, but from January 2019 it increased to two euros per night. However, passengers on cruise ships disembarking in the capital never paid the fee.
In December, the Mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, highlighted the ability to resolve “a situation that had been going on for seven years” regarding the charging of tourist tax in Lisbon to cruise passengers, considering that it is a matter of justice in in relation to people who already pay the tax in hotels.
The mayor also said that charging the fee to cruise passengers also allows us to invest more in the city, including in urban cleaning, green spaces and social housing, and to invest in a strategy of having “better tourism, better quality of tourism”.
Without wanting to respond to what Lisbon has lost in these seven years by not charging this fee on cruises, Carlos Moedas said that revenue of 1.2 million euros per year is expected, following the protocol signed with APL.
Asked about updating the value of the tourist tax in Lisbon, the president of the CML said that the municipality is working in this area, particularly with tour operators, to provide news “very soon”. Carlos Moedas also stated that “the next step is for the ships to be docked electrically”.
According to the president of the APL Board of Directors, the project to supply electricity to cruise ships docked in the Port of Lisbon, so that they use only clean energy, is underway, leveraged by the creation of a working group created by the Government, foreseeing its completion by 2026.
Read Also: Tax for cruise passengers effective from April 1st
Download our free App.
Eighth consecutive year Consumer Choice for Online Press and elected product of the year 2024.
* Study by e Netsonda, Nov. and ten. 2023 product of the year – pt.com
Download our free App.
Eighth consecutive year Consumer Choice for Online Press and elected product of the year 2024.
* Study by e Netsonda, Nov. and ten. 2023 product of the year – pt.com
