US EditionNorway Government Agrees Tax for Areas Hit by Overtourism
- On June 4, 2025, Norway's government agreed to let municipalities with overtourism impose a 3 percent tax on hotels, Airbnbs, hostels, and cruise ships.
- This decision followed long discussions and a deal between ruling and opposition parties, with some disagreement over targeting cruise ships versus broader accommodation.
- Municipalities must prove "real pressure on infrastructure" to levy the tax, while campervans and camping remain exempt, prompting criticism from business groups.
- Erling Sande noted, "There are a handful of areas in our country" facing high tourist loads, especially Troms and Lofoten, where local mayors lobbied for broader tax coverage.
- The tax could affect tourism patterns in pressured areas and represents a compromise to address overtourism's infrastructure impact at the municipal level.
13 Articles
13 Articles
It may soon become more expensive to travel to Norway. The country's municipalities can now choose to introduce a tourist tax. - This is a big victory for Lofoten, says Vidar Thom Benjaminsen to NRK mayor of the city of Vågan.
Norwegian municipalities with high tourist pressure will have the right to introduce a fee of three percent per overnight stay – a tourist tax that a majority in the Storting has agreed to after a long debate.
The Labor Party, the Center Party and the Socialist Freedom Party (SV) agree that municipalities with many tourists can impose a 3 percent fee on accommodation, a so-called tourist tax.
The Labor Party, the Center Party and the Socialist Freedom Party (SV) agree that municipalities with many tourists can impose a 3 percent fee on accommodation, a so-called tourist tax.
The tourist tax will hit cruise tourists, but camping tourists will be exempt. Lofoten mayors believe the agreement came during the Count's time.
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