The ‘wizard wheeze’ by some of the ‘heavy hitting municipalities’ (like Lisbon and Porto) of increasing tourist taxes has resulted in a veritable cash bonanza. The first six months of 2025 have seen local authorities ‘double their money’, reaching ‘historic values’. Just to the end of June, €65 million has been collected (compared to ‘just €33 million’ in the same period last year).
It is not all down to tourist taxes being increased (in some cases 100%); it is down to the sheer weight of people visiting Portuguese towns and cities (staying in anything from ALs to hotels), and the number of municipalities that have leapt onto this cashwagon… there are still so many more that could, too.
Dinheiro Vivo reports that “currently, 43 of the 308 boroughs in the country charge an extra sum for nights spent by tourists which can vary from €1 to €4” – meaning many more could opt for this solution to raise extra money.
Concentrating on the tactics of Lisbon (which doubled its tax last year, and extended the time period in which it is charged), DV says the city’s goal is to rake in €87.5 million by the end of the year (as stated in the municipal budget).
Neighbouring Cascais is also seeing the money rolling in, with revenue increasing 68% this year, translating into €2.3 million.
Porto too has declared “more than €12 million”, while smaller municipalities like Braga are beaming with the results of their own tourist tax.
In the Algarve, a number of municipalities are positively ‘laughing’: Albufeira, for example, which has been in the press recently for the less than exemplary behaviour of some of its tourists, has nonetheless managed to take €3,620,843 off them in the first six months of this year. It is an increase, according to Dinheiro Vivo, of 1,449% on 2024. Albufeira literally tops the tourist tax parade.
Lagoa too has done very nicely: increasing revenue by 612% in the last year (and making nearly €1 million), with Portimão coming in closely behind.
With results like these, it may only be a matter of time for new Algarve municipalities to ‘join the club’ and start taxing tourists just because they are ‘there’.
DV concludes its article on ‘municipalities doubling their money’ admitting that “the list of town councils creating rules to tax tourist sleepovers should become more extensive in the next few months. We should add that the city of Évora has started, this month, to apply a €1.5 tourist tax, becoming the first Alentejan municipality to do so”.
Source: Dinheiro Vivo
