Mayor says those who thought the tourist tax would improve competitiveness were wrong
Faro raised “almost one million euros” in its tourist tax between March and October, the City Council announced.
“We are very satisfied, only with the amount generated, but even more because it is double what we expected,” Faro Mayor Rogério Bacalhau told Lusa news agency.
2022 was the first year that the tourist tax was collected after two years of suspension due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The tourist tax of € 1. 5 consistent with evening is charged between March and October up to seven evenings. Children 12 years and younger are exempt.
According to Bacalhau, the profit from the tourist tax shows that “Faro is a tourist destination lately, which it was not a few years ago. “He also said that “those who predicted that the tax would be the competitiveness” of the tourism sector were wrong.
Bacalhau promises that the tax will continue to be levied and hopes that other municipalities in the Algarve will soon start introducing their own tourist taxes.
“These revenues are vital for the tourism sector, as they allow more investments in Faro as a destination,” said Rogério Bacalhau.
In other words, the money raised is used for “public spaces, heritage, cultural systems and events, and facilities that are presented to tourists. “
Last month, the Association of Algarve Municipalities (AMAL) showed that it plans to introduce a “regional tourist tax” in 2023, a proposal that is agreed among the actors of the tourism sector.
Hoteliers worry about its impact, while the Algarve’s head of tourism, João Fernandes, knows if the time has come to revive the issue.
The first district to introduce a tourist tax in the Algarve Vila Real de Santo António in 2018.
The objective of the tax, levied the year, was to help cover “the maintenance of municipal equipment and infrastructure for tourists and residents, such as the sports complex”, and contribute to the financing of “the participation of the municipality in foreign fairs” . promote the municipality and its potential.
The tax contributed €725,000 to the VRSA in 2019, an amount that may not be exceeded until 2022. The tax has already generated €626,000 for the municipality in 2022 between January and October.
In VRSA € 1 is charged daily up to a maximum of seven days in tourist establishments such as hotels, resorts, tourist apartments, rural hotels and local accommodation, and 50 cents per day in campsites and motorhome areas.
While other municipalities in Portugal have suspended their tourism taxes due to the pandemic, the VRSA has continued to tax them as it still receives monetary aid through the Municipal Adjustment Program (PAM).
The VRSA tax at €465,000 in 2020 and €529,000 in 2021.
By Michel Bruxo
michael. bruxo@portugalresident. com
November 10, 2022 Edition