Tourist taxes arriving in 2027, and what each one costs you
Thailand's arrival fee, Glasgow's levy, Tokyo's 3% hotel tax, a dearer Venice day pass and Australia's higher departure charge all land next year. Dates, amounts and which ones are still only proposals.
2026 was the year tourist taxes stopped being a Venice-and-Amsterdam story. Edinburgh switched its levy on in July, Barcelona doubled its rate in April, Kyoto’s hotel tax went up tenfold at the top, and Japan tripled its departure tax. 2027 adds a second wave: Thailand, Glasgow, Tokyo, Wales, Australia, and a Venice day pass that could cost €30. Here is each one with its date, its amount and, importantly, whether it is law yet.
The 2027 calendar
Some of these are passed and dated. Others are proposals that still need a vote, a gazette or a national sign-off. The status column is the one to read twice.
| From | Where | What | Status on 16 Oct 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Jan 2027 | Australia | Passenger Movement Charge $70 to $80 per departure, in the ticket | In the federal budget; bill before Parliament |
| 25 Jan 2027 | Glasgow | 5% of the accommodation bill, no cap on nights | Approved by the council |
| Early 2027, target | Thailand | ฿450 per foreign visitor arriving by air, insurance included | Needs cabinet approval and Royal Gazette publication |
| 1 Apr 2027 | Tokyo | 3% of the room rate, stays of ¥13,000 or less exempt, private rentals included | Announced by the metropolitan government |
| 1 Apr 2027 | Barcelona and Catalonia | City surcharge up another €1 a night on the way to €8 by 2029; regional rate rises again | Approved |
| April 2027, earliest | Wales | £1.30 per person per night, 75p in hostels and campsites, council by council | Law passed; each council decides |
| April 2027 | Aberdeen | 7% of the accommodation bill | Reported; not yet on the council’s own pages |
| 2027 season | Venice | Day pass raised to as much as €30 and charged on more days | Proposal; needs agreement with the national government |
| 2027 | Amsterdam | Overnight tax 12.5% to 16%, then up a point a year to 20% by 2030 | Coalition proposal |
| Late 2026, expected | EU and Schengen | ETIAS travel authorisation, €20 for three years, visa-free visitors | Not yet in operation; date to be announced months ahead |
Thailand: a fee with insurance attached
Thailand has been promising an entry fee since 2023. On 7 October the tourism minister put a date on it: collection targeted for the first quarter of 2027, at ฿450 per foreign visitor, air arrivals first, with land and sea crossings a year later. The fee bundles medical and death insurance, which is the political argument for it, and the government expects at least ฿8 billion a year left over for attractions and conservation.
How you’ll pay is undecided. Adding it to the airfare won the public consultation, with a website, an app and airport kiosks as fallbacks. It still needs the National Tourism Policy Committee, then cabinet, then the Royal Gazette, and takes effect within 180 days of publication. That chain has broken before. Budget for it, don’t bank on it.
Venice: the €5 pass that didn’t work as intended
Venice’s day-tripper fee ran on selected days from 3 April to 26 July 2026, €5 if you booked four or more days ahead and €10 otherwise, between 08:30 and 16:00. It sold just under 680,000 tickets and raised more than €5.2 million. The city’s budget councillor, Michele Zuin, told Il Gazzettino in September that it hadn’t deterred anyone, that €50 had been discussed, and that €30 on more days of the year is the likely 2027 ask. The national government has to agree.
Anyone staying overnight in Venice is exempt, because the accommodation tax covers them. Children under 14 are exempt too. If you were going to spend a night anyway, the day pass is someone else’s problem.
Scotland and Wales: percentages versus pounds
Edinburgh’s 5% levy has been live since 24 July 2026, capped at five nights, on the room price only. Glasgow follows on 25 January 2027 at the same 5%, but with no night cap, so a fortnight costs the full fortnight. Aberdeen is reported to be going to 7% from April 2027.
Wales took the other model. Its levy is a flat £1.30 per person per night in most accommodation and 75p in hostels and campsites, with under-18s exempt in those two. The law is passed, but every council chooses whether to adopt it, and the earliest any of them can start is April 2027. Cardiff and Anglesey have said they intend to. Check your council before assuming either way.
Amsterdam, Barcelona and the slow ratchet
Amsterdam already charges 12.5% on overnight stays, the highest percentage in Europe. In June the city’s coalition proposed 16% for 2027, rising a point a year to 20% by 2030. On a €200 room that is €32 a night next year. It is still a proposal.
Barcelona’s is already law. The city surcharge went to €5 a night on 1 April 2026 and rises €1 a year until it reaches €8 in 2029, on top of Catalonia’s regional rate, which rises again on 1 April 2027. For a five-star hotel the combined charge is heading past €12 per person per night.
Tokyo and Australia
Tokyo moves from a flat ¥100 or ¥200 a night to 3% of the room rate from April 2027, and brings private rentals into the net for the first time. Two people in a ¥30,000 room go from ¥400 a night to ¥900. Every Japanese charge is covered here.
Australia’s Passenger Movement Charge rises from $70 to $80 for departures from 1 January 2027, its second increase in three years. It is built into the ticket, so you only notice it in the fare breakdown. One wrinkle: the increase was in the budget but hadn’t passed Parliament as of September, so airlines were still collecting $70 on 2027 departures, and may not be able to recover the difference on tickets already sold.
Tell me where you’re sleeping and for how many nights, and I’ll add each city’s levy as its own line in the trip budget, in the local currency, so a 5% Glasgow charge doesn’t turn up as a surprise at checkout.
And then there’s ETIAS
ETIAS is not a tax, but it will feel like one. It is the €20 travel authorisation that visa-free visitors, including Australians, Americans and Britons, will need before entering 30 European countries. It is valid three years and free for under-18s and over-70s. The official site still says it is not in operation and that the EU will announce the start date several months ahead. Our EES and ETIAS explainer covers what the fingerprint border already looks like.
Of the ten items above, four are not yet law: Thailand’s fee, Venice’s €30, Amsterdam’s 16% and Australia’s $80. Wales depends on each council. The right move is to budget the amount and hold it loosely. Pay nothing to any site claiming to sell a Thai entry fee or an ETIAS today. Neither exists yet, and the ETIAS site says plainly that anyone selling one is a scam.
Which of these fees are in the airfare and which do I pay in person?
Australia’s departure charge and Japan’s departure tax are in the ticket. Thailand’s fee will probably be too, but that isn’t decided. Hotel levies in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Tokyo and Wales are charged by the accommodation, usually at checkout. Venice’s day pass is bought online in advance.
Do children pay tourist taxes?
It varies. Venice exempts under-14s, Wales exempts under-18s in hostels and campsites, Australia exempts under-12s from the departure charge, and ETIAS is free under 18. Scottish levies and Amsterdam’s charge apply to every guest.
Does the Edinburgh levy apply to Airbnb?
Yes. It covers hotels, hostels, B&Bs and self-catering lets, at 5% of the accommodation cost, for up to five nights. Glasgow’s version has no night cap.
Is ETIAS definitely starting in 2026?
The EU has said the last quarter of 2026, with a date to be announced months ahead. As of mid-October no date has been published, and there is a transitional period after launch during which you can still enter without one.
- Thai Examiner, 450-baht tourist fee targeted for early 2027 (7 Oct 2026), checked 16 Oct 2026
- Reuters via CP24, Venice considering raising day-tripper fee to €30 (21 Sep 2026), checked 16 Oct 2026
- City of Edinburgh Council, visitor levy (5% from 24 July 2026, five-night cap), checked 16 Oct 2026
- Scottish Financial News, Glasgow 5% levy from 2027, checked 16 Oct 2026
- Edinburgh Evening News, Edinburgh levy explainer with Glasgow (25 Jan 2027) and Aberdeen (7% from April 2027), checked 16 Oct 2026
- Welsh Government, visitor levy for accommodation providers (£1.30 and 75p rates, earliest April 2027, council by council), checked 16 Oct 2026
- Skift, Amsterdam proposes tourism tax rise to 16% in 2027 and 20% by 2030 (5 Jun 2026), checked 16 Oct 2026
- Catalan News, Catalonia doubles tourist tax from April 2026, further rise April 2027, checked 16 Oct 2026
- SoraNews24, Tokyo 3% accommodation tax from April 2027, checked 16 Oct 2026
- Australian Frequent Flyer, Passenger Movement Charge to $80 from 1 January 2027 (7 Sep 2026), checked 16 Oct 2026
- European Commission, official ETIAS site (€20, not yet in operation), checked 16 Oct 2026
Plan the trip with the new fees already counted.
Lez drafts the days, then keeps the budget honest, levies included.
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