Could Copenhagen become next European city to introduce tourist tax?

The Copenhagen Municipality city council is in favour of a tourism tax and its Finance Committee has produced various models which have now been submitted to the Business Minister, newspaper Politiken reports.

The minister, Morten Bødskov, has previously rejected a special tourist tax, saying it would cost jobs and not be profitable for the industry.

But the city government wants to change the minister’s mind.

“This is about being a good host city for the benefit of tourists and residents alike. It’s not great for business owners if tourists don’t have a good experience,” city councillor Rasmus Steenberger of the left-centre Socialist People’s Party (SF) told Politiken.

“There’s a strain on the city centre and we need money to keep the city clean, build more toilets, better bicycle lanes and more things that benefit tourists and the local population,” he said.

The models suggested by the municipal council vary widely, including one in which only cruise ship tourists are charged. In another model tourists could be charged 1 euro per night in the city. The latter model could earn Copenhagen 51 million kroner per year, Politiken states.

Perhaps the most-famous tourist tax in Europe is Italian city Venice’s 5 euro charge on tourists during peak season. The island of Bali in Indonesia charges tourists the equivalent of 60 Danish kroner on arrival at the airport.

Reports this week have described protests against tourists in Barcelona, where locals demonstrated against the impact of the tourism industry on local housing and businesses by throwing water at tourists outside cafes and blocking hotel entrances.

Cities including Florence, London and Amsterdam have meanwhile introduced regulations against accommodation platform Airbnb.

The Confederation of Danish Industry (DI) said it opposes a tourist tax in Denmark.

In a written comment to news wire Ritzau, the organisation said that the tax would not offset a loss of revenue from reduced jobs and tourist spending caused by the fee.

“Neither Copenhagen or the tourism industry are served by introducing a tourist tax to the city,” DI’s head of tourism Lars Bertolt Winther said.