There is complete confusion about the Norwegian tourist tax. Poo in the wild, trampled paths and rubbish are one of the reasons why the Minister of Business and Industry promised in January this year to get an arrangement in place during the year. But it turns out it’s not that simple. Because how is this to be resolved? – How will the contribution be collected? – Who will distribute the money? – Who will get? What Norway sees as a problem, Croatia believes they have found a solution to. Photo: Aleksander Gospic – Everyone benefits from it Tourist tax is far from new. Countries such as the Netherlands, Italy, Greece and Croatia have been demanding the tax for many years already. In Amsterdam, they started with a tourist tax as early as 1973. In Croatia, it was introduced in 2007 – and with success. – It has not had any major negative consequences, on the contrary. It has given us a greater opportunity to develop the tourism industry in Croatia. That’s according to the director of the Croatian Tourist Board, Vedran Sušić. How the tourist tax works in Croatia The visitor’s contribution is paid for each night you spend in a Croatian city where you do not have a residential address. The price varies depending on the type of accommodation and the season. The price is decided by the county council together with local tourist boards every year on 31 January. The minimum and maximum are nevertheless determined by the ministry. The price of an overnight stay is between 0.66 euros and 2.65 euros. The fee is paid by all adults over the age of 18. Children between 12 and 18 pay 50 percent of the price. Children under the age of 12, seasonal workers, people with a 70 per cent reduction and a companion and foreign nationals on a study trip do not have to pay. The tax paid is distributed so that 65 per cent goes to the tourism industry in the municipality or city. Of which 30 percent goes to the specific area where the tourist has been and is used exclusively to improve living conditions. 10 percent goes to the tourist board in the county. 25 percent goes to the national tourist board. Among other things, the funds will help to develop the country’s many tourist destinations. The aim is that the measures should also make the lives of the local population better. – When you improve the destination for tourists, it is also for the locals, so everyone benefits. Sušić understands that the tourism industry can become skeptical that prices will increase. But he still doesn’t think it’s difficult to get everyone on the team, as long as they see what they themselves gain from it. Photo: CROATIAN NATIONAL TOURIST BOARD But if it’s so easy, why can’t we do it in Norway? news has also tried to get answers from the tourism industry in Italy, Spain and Greece, but so far without success. Agree, but disagree Everyone wants a tourist tax, but no one agrees on how it should be implemented. The tourism industry in Lofoten has been working to get a visitor contribution in place for 15 years. – The tourist pressure in Lofoten is great. Most people see that a region with 24,500 inhabitants cannot foot the bill for several hundred thousand tourists, said tourism manager Line Renate Samuelsen in Destination Lofoten when the minister of business promised a pilot project earlier this year. In opposition to Croatia’s system of contributions for accommodation, she believes the visitor’s contribution should be paid when entering the region. – We have not proposed that one part of the industry (the accommodation industry, journal note) should be taxed, says Samuelsen. Line Samuelsen is tourism manager at Destination Lofoten. She suggests that visitor contributions that are collected should be used for measures that are needed locally. Photo: Malin Nygård Solberg / news – So we suggest that it be anchored locally. It is here that the challenges are local, and it is here that the infrastructures are put under pressure. According to Destination Lofoten, one of the most relevant solutions is to use license plate recognition on cars. While local residents and commuters can be registered in a so-called white list, and are not billed for the passage. Samuelsen in Destination Lofoten has previously pointed out to news that Lofoten is a region where visitor control is easy to implement. This is because there is only one way into the region. Otherwise, the mode of transport is plane or boat. But not everyone agrees with this solution. Wants national guidelines In March, a government-appointed committee proposed that Norway introduce a tourist tax. But unlike the industry in Lofoten, they want the contribution to be national. – We want everyone who comes to Norway to contribute a small change of NOK 10 or 20, and that way we can develop better offers for tourists, committee leader Trine Skei Grande told news earlier in July. Trine Skei Grande led the government committee that looked at the tourist tax. Photo: Jon Anders Møllen / news She wants the income to be distributed between the county councils, which process applications for funds for community welfare measures. How the funds are to be used must be managed locally, the public inquiry believes. But tourism manager Line Renate Samuelsen fears the committee’s proposal will cause them to lose control. – If it is collected at the border, we cannot, among other things, regulate prices in high season and low season. We are afraid that there will be too much bureaucracy if you are to start with application schemes and projects. Aiming to get the scheme ready within the year According to State Secretary Anne Marit Bjørnflaten, all the proposals challenge current legislation and involve administrative issues. Therefore, they also have no concrete plan on how the tourist tax will be introduced. – Visitor contributions can mean that visitors are required to pay a fee linked to entry into the country or a geographically defined area, or through a surcharge on one or more services such as accommodation, catering, trade and experiences in an area. The government has set up a suitable working group to look at these challenges. – The work has a high priority, and we aim to have the scheme ready during the year. It is too early to say how the pilots will be designed, but the goal is for them to provide both the municipalities and us with useful lessons that can lay the foundation for lasting solutions, she adds. State Secretary Anne Marit Bjørnflaten (Ap) Photo: Anja Ariel Tørnes Brekke / news
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Tourist tax in Norway: Norway gets advice from Croatia
