How will the new fee work?
The Norwegian government has proposed to parliament an idea that has been discussed for years: to allow local authorities to charge tourists an additional fee of 3% of the cost of an overnight stay. This applies to all forms of accommodation: hotels, campsites, and even renting accommodation through Airbnb.
But the fee will not be mandatory throughout the country. The municipalities themselves will decide: somewhere it will be introduced, somewhere, perhaps, not yet - especially where there are few tourists and the load on the infrastructure is not so tangible.
What prompted the authorities to make this decision
There are more and more tourists in Norway . Last year - 38 million overnight stays! This is not just a record, but a real challenge for small towns and villages. Imagine: a thousand people live in the village, and in the summer three times as many tourists come there. People are happy that tourists are coming to them, but toilets, paths, garbage collection - all this requires money.
In large cities, there are resources, but in remote places the situation is more complicated. That is why the authorities decided: it is time to give the regions the opportunity to somehow compensate for the costs that tourism brings along with income.
Where will the collected money be directed
This is not a tax for the sake of a tax. The collection is supposed to be targeted, that is, all the money will go to the needs that concern the tourists themselves: for example, for cleaning the territories, maintaining pedestrian routes, installing public toilets, and so on.
The tourist flow is great, but you also have to pay for comfort. Ideally, so that no one notices: it's just that everything is clean, everything works, nothing annoys. That is what such measures are for.
Why it's not just about money
Nobody likes to introduce taxes, but more and more countries, especially in Europe, are facing the same problem: nature suffers, garbage accumulates, roads are broken. Local budgets are not elastic.
France, Italy, Spain have long been taking local fees from tourists, Iceland has returned the tax after the pandemic. Norway is not isolated from this trend – it is simply adjusting to reality. Tourism must be sustainable, otherwise it simply ceases to be enjoyable for everyone, both for visitors and for those who live there all year round.
What is important for tourists to know?
If the law is adopted, it will come into force in the summer. This does not mean that the trip will rise in price dramatically, but you may notice some difference in the cost of living. Everything will be immediately included in the price of housing - you will not have to pay extra separately.
You should pay special attention if you are going to popular places such as the Lofoten Islands or the fjords. It is there that the load is the highest, and, most likely, the tax will be introduced there in the first place.
However, this is not a reason to refuse a trip! On the contrary, with this approach, the rest can become even more comfortable: fewer queues, more cleanliness, better organization. Also it is worth it to contribute to the common cause - even after a modest percentage of the cost of an overnight stay.
