Dublin's proposed tourist tax is a 'two-edged sword' says travel expert
Dublin City Council may consider introducing a tourist levy of up to €5 per night on visitors staying in the capital.The idea was reportedly outlined to councillors at a finance committee meeting this week. A simple flat rate is one way the tax count be applied, or a tiered system based on accommodation quality could be used.Editor of Travelextra.ie, Eoghan Corry told The Hard Shoulder that the proposed tourist tax is a "two-edged sword."“Cities come up with this, politicians love it, hoteliers and tourists hate it”, he said. “If they can get away with this, politicians will generally push for this.“They can get away with it if the city's reputation and their visiting power is way beyond things like price and it's not regarded as in competition. It's a two-edged sword. Different markets behave in different ways.”He added that some tourists who have similar taxes in their countries will likely take no issue with a tourist tax, others who are unfamiliar with it may take umbridge.Dublin would not be the first European city to introduce a tourist tax, if one was to be implemented. In Germany, popular cities like Berlin, Hamburg, and Frankfurt have a culture or bed tax, in Italy, Venice has a 2026 fee for daytrippers, and in the Czech Republic's Prague, per-person nightly fees are applied, among many other examples.“We have an issue here that once a tourist tax comes in, it starts creeping up” Eoghan said. “When politicians smell money for the city coffers, they get ahold of it and push it which hurts the tourist trade and the business trade in the city.“It also puts a lot of pressure on the hoteliers. The hoteliers tend to absorb the tax for the first year or two.”“The hotels are already paying very, very high levels of tax. The 9% reduction last year, famously in food for restaurants, doesn't apply to beds.”Want to see more of the stories you love from Dublin Live? Making us your preferred source on Google means you’ll get more of our exclusives, top stories and must-read content straight away. To add Dublin Live as a preferred source, simply click here.
