The year 2024 has seen massive protests in various cities across the world, notably in Europe, against over-tourism, leading governments to impose tourist taxes or bring in restrictions on number of visitors allowed on a daily or weekly basis.

The trend is not only set to continue in the year 2025, but even pick up pace as many more tourist destinations and activities are likely to be targetted in the move to curb over-tourism and several governments have already announced the imposition of taxes or hike in taxes already in place.

One such spot is the popular Portuguese island of Madeira which attracts hundreds of thousands of tourists each year, especially to discover its nature through its renowned hiking trails. Come January 1, 2025, Madeira will impose a tourist tax on all visitors who want to hike anywhere in the island on any of its 30 routes.

Currently, Madeira has a tax for only seven popular trails, but with effect from the new year, the fee will be expanded to cover all other routes as well. As per a decision by the local government, all tourists who are over the age of 12 years will have to pay a fee of EUR 3 to hike in Madeira’s trails. Those who violate this requirement will face fine of EUR 50.

The local government says that by introducing such a fee, it wants to protect the landscape of the island as well as improve the hiking experience of visitors.

Elsewhere in Portugal, Évora, in central Portugal will introduce a tourist tax sometime early in the year 2025. Évora is known for its ancient Roman Temple of Évora, also called the Temple of Diana as well as the Cathedral of Évora, a massive 12th century Gothic structure. The other popular attractions here include Igreja de São Francisco featuring Gothic and baroque architecture along with the skeleton-adorned Chapel of Bones.

Though the city administration has not yet finalised the rate or the conditions for imposition of the tax, it says the revenue from this tax is intended to help cover waste management, heritage preservation, and tourism promotion costs.

Across the continent, in Italy, the local government in Venice has decided not only to extend the tourist tax introduced last summer to the new year, but also increase the fee for certain categories of visitors.

According to the Venetian administration, the current EUR 5 tourist tax in Venice will continue to apply to visitors throughout 2025, and this fee will double for some, notably the last-minute visitors.

Starting April 2025, last-minute visitors will be required to pay a fee of EUR 10 when visiting Venice on certain days of the week. This hike is aimed at combating overtourism and improving the quality of life of Venetian citizens.

Also on the list is Greece which will impose a higher tourist tax in 2025 as the national government has decided to increase the rate from the current EUR 0.50 to EUR 2 per day. Moreover, the tax will be further raised during the high season, between April and October, from the current EUR 1.5 to EUR 8. Cruise ship taxes will also see a hike in 2025.

Some other EU cities, notably Barcelona and Malaga in Spain, which have seen numerous protests against mass tourism, might also impose such taxes next year once the authorities make decisions on the matter.