What Is a Tourist Tax?

A tourist tax, also called a city tax, is a fee that travelers pay when they stay in hotels, vacation rentals and other accommodation, and it is usually charged on top of the room rate (AltexSoft glossary: City tax (tourist tax)). In Europe it is typically charged per person, per night of stay (HOTREC Survey on Taxes (Jan 2025)).

Last updated: October 2026

How a tourist tax works

The details change from one country to the next, and Europe's system of tourism-related taxes is highly diversified (HOTREC Survey on Taxes (Jan 2025)). Some countries use a share of the price in place of a flat amount: in Romania, most city taxes are 0.5% to 3% of the tourist tariff (HOTREC Survey on Taxes (Jan 2025)). The level of government that sets the tax also differs. In Germany each municipality decides whether to levy one, while in Austria the federal states set the amount and structure (HOTREC Survey on Taxes (Jan 2025)).

France ties the amount to the property's classification. For 2026, a classified palace charges EUR 0.70 to 4.90 per person per night, and a 5-star hotel EUR 0.70 to 3.60 (Service-Public: Tourist tax, what are the rates?).

Edinburgh shows the percentage model at city level. Its visitor levy is 5% of the cost of paid overnight accommodation, charged on the first 5 nights only, for stays from 24 July 2026 (City of Edinburgh Council: About the Edinburgh Visitor Levy). Extras such as parking, meals, drinks and transport sit outside the levy (City of Edinburgh Council: About the Edinburgh Visitor Levy).

In the US, the same idea often carries a different name. Florida counties may levy a tourist development tax on rentals of living quarters for 6 months or less, at a base rate of 1% or 2% of the rent, and the person receiving the rent (the host or hotel) charges it (Florida Statutes 2025, s. 125.0104). US lodging taxes in general, including how they are filed, belong to occupancy tax.

Why tourist tax matters for hotel distribution

Who collects the money depends on the market and on the channel, so one property can follow different rules on different booking sites. Since January 2020, French law has required platforms to collect and remit the tourist tax on behalf of non-professional hosts, and Airbnb applies this to all its bookings in France (Airbnb Help Center: article 2284). Elsewhere, Airbnb automatically collects and remits certain occupancy taxes in some jurisdictions, and hosts may still need to collect and remit other applicable taxes themselves (Airbnb Help Center: article 654).

Booking.com works with two models for a per-person city tax. Either the property collects it from the guest at check-in, or, in select markets, Booking.com collects it during the booking process (Booking.com Connectivity docs: Understanding per person charges collection). In the connectivity data, the tax is flagged as charged per night and per person (Booking.com Connectivity docs: Understanding per person charges collection).

Rates move often, too. In Barcelona, the regional tourist tax set by the Catalan government doubled on 1 April 2026, to EUR 7 per night in luxury establishments and EUR 3.40 in four-star ones, and the cap on the city's own surcharge rose from EUR 4 to EUR 8 (Catalan News: Catalonia to double tourist tax from April (Feb 2026)). Hawaii raised its state Transient Accommodations Tax by 0.75 points to 11% on 1 January 2026 (Hawaii Tribune-Herald: Hawaii's new 2026 laws (Jan 2026)).

For a property that sells through several channels, each rate change has to be updated everywhere the tax is set up.

Tourist tax compared with other charges

ChargeHow it is chargedWhere the guest meets it
Tourist taxPer person per night, or a share of the room cost, set locallyOn the stay, through the property or the booking platform
Departure tax (Japan)Per departing traveler: JPY 3,000 from 1 July 2026, up from JPY 1,000 JNTO: Japan's International Tourist Tax is increasing (May 2026)In the air ticket price, outside the lodging bill
Day-visitor access fee (Venice)EUR 5 per day-tripper (EUR 10 when booked within 3 days), on 60 days in 2026 The Local Italy: Venice fee calendar 2026 (Dec 2025)At entry to the city; guests staying overnight in city accommodation are exempt

Frequently asked questions

What is a tourist tax used for?
Uses vary by destination. In Catalonia, one quarter of the regional tourist tax revenue goes to housing policy and the rest to tourism promotion, as Catalan News reported when the 2026 increase was announced. That split applies to Catalonia only, so a property elsewhere should check its own local authority's rules.
What is tourist tax called in other places?
The name changes with the place. Many booking sites and travel guides call it a city tax. France uses taxe de séjour, Florida has a tourist development tax, Hawaii a Transient Accommodations Tax, and Edinburgh a visitor levy. Each one is a charge tied to a paid overnight stay, so a property should look for the local name when it checks the rules.
Do vacation rentals pay tourist tax?
In many of the examples on this page, yes. In France, unclassified accommodation, which often means short-term rentals, pays 1% to 5% of the per-person cost of the night, up to the top rate the local authority sets. Edinburgh's levy covers self-catering apartments and aparthotels as well as hotels, and Hawaii's Transient Accommodations Tax applies to vacation rentals.
When do guests pay tourist tax?
It is usually paid at checkout, though some platforms take it at booking. On Booking.com, the tax amount stays visible in the booking data sent to the property, whichever party collects it.
How is a tourist tax different from an occupancy tax?
Both are charges on paid overnight stays, and the names overlap. A tourist tax, or city tax, is often a fixed amount per person per night, the usual model in Europe. A US occupancy tax, or transient occupancy tax, is usually a percentage of the room price. Some places mix the two: Florida's tourist development tax is a share of the rent, and some US hotels also pay a flat fee per room night. See occupancy tax.

Related terms

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Where Jetstream fits

Tourist tax rules change by city and by property type, so the rates and charges a property loads need to stay in step everywhere it sells. Jetstream builds an AI channel manager that connects a property's systems to the channels where guests book, and keeps rooms, rates and availability accurate on each one, managed from one place.

See Jetstream's AI channel manager Book a demo