Tourist tax set to increase in Amsterdam

Amsterdam will raise its overnight city tax from 5% to 6% in 2018.
* This is not yet confirmed. It is one of various proposals that are currently under consideration.

It’s not about the quantity, but about the quality. This is the best way to describe what the officials in Amsterdam are aiming to achieve with this drastic increase of the tourist tax. The proposal is on charging 10 EUR extra tax per tourist on top of the five percent tax that tourists already pay for their accommodation. This extra tax applies to anyone staying in an Airbnb, hotel or bed & breakfast.

While perceptions of overcrowding and local action are high on the political agenda, managing growth requires a long-term strategy.

Amsterdam’s population is growing at nearly 2% a year despite its geographic constraints. Annual visitor numbers have increased by more than a third since 2012. Experts anticipate this will rise even further to a whopping 23 million. Now the officials are trying to prevent this and make Amsterdam more sustainable and locals-friendlier. Tourism is sometimes seen as an additional and unwelcome burden. While its economic significance is well understood by city authorities and many residents, the tensions are clear.

Hot topics for local debate include: managing peer-to-peer accommodation; physical diversification of tourism; attracting more higher-spending visitors versus increased volume; developing more high-end product; tax being calculated as a combination of flat rate and percentage.