Professor José Fernando Gonçalves Ecopark applies tourist tax

From 1 September 2024, the José Fernando Gonçalves Ecopark will introduce a city tourist tax.

With a considerable increase in tourist activity in 2022 in the Lisbon metropolitan area, which is reflected in Setúbal, there has been a strong increase in pressure on public infrastructures and equipment, on public roads, and in the municipality’s urban space in general.

With this in mind, the project, which involves the different options already adopted nationally and internationally in the same cases, establishes a tax on overnight stays in tourist resorts, local accommodation establishments with more than ten beds, and camping sites in the municipality of Setúbal.

The municipal tourist tax is instituted as an overnight stay tax, with a unit value of 2 euros, payable per guest over 18 and per night, up to a maximum of five nights, regardless of nationality, place of residence, and booking method.

Guests whose stay is motivated by medical treatment are exempt. The exemption is extended to a companion, even if the patient is not staying, for health reasons, in the respective establishment. A document proving the appointment or provision of medical services is presented.

Guests with a disability, i.e. any disability equal to or greater than 60 percent, are also exempt, as are students in specific temporary training or teachers in training/research (an unprecedented measure in the country that aims to attract a niche market to the municipality, especially in the low season), all of whom must present documentation proving these conditions.

Also exempt are tourism professionals operating in Portugal, such as guides, drivers, tourist entertainment monitors, tourism promoters, event organizers, municipal tourism professionals, governing bodies, and professionals of tourism bodies and tourism associations.

Setúbal City Council must therefore secure new funding sources, following the principle of fair distribution of public burdens, through the revenue from the tourist tax. Revenue is expected to be 400,000 euros, annually.

The municipal tourist tax is intended to finance utilities generated by public expenditure by the municipality on activities and investments exclusively related to tourism, payable in return for the actual provision of services, both currently available and those to be provided in the future.

This includes Service provision as information and support for tourists, the creation and structuring of products, support for tourism promotion in the Setúbal region, nature conservation projects, and strengthening the security of people and goods.

Maintenance works and urban, territorial, heritage, and environmental improvements to public spaces, as well as the creation of infrastructures and tourist, cultural, artistic, and leisure centers for visitors, in the municipality in general, but with a special focus on tourist areas of excellence, are also covered.

The amount to be charged to national and foreign tourists takes into account the costs of the wear and tear inherent in the tourist footprint and in return for the public utilities and municipal services specifically provided and directed to them, which generate new expenses.