Although it’s regularly hailed as one of the top destinations for a budget-friendly city break, visiting Porto is about to become more expensive.
Portugal’s second city, which is home to Europe’s cheapest pints (£1.72 on average), is set to raise traveller taxes by 50% in an effort to crack down on overtourism.
Currently, non-resident stays are charged a rate of €2 (£1.69) per person per night for those aged 13 or over – the same as in Albufeira, Madeira and Setúbal.
Under new plans, however, the tax will be hiked to €3 (£2.53) per night, with the additional fees to be spent in areas like culture, heritage, the environment, energy, quality of life, town planning, housing and transport.
Rui Moreira, Porto’s mayor, claimed the current levy isn’t enough, and that extra money is ‘essential for providing a service to tourism’ in the city going forward.
He added: ‘[It is] imperative to maintain Porto as a sustainable tourist destination preventing degradation and excessive occupation, which implies adjustments in tourism management policies.’
The proposal looked at the council’s 2023 expenditure of €15.5million (£13.09million) when compared to the 5.5million overnight stays in the city over the course of the year. As this represents a cost of €2.81 (£2.37) per stay, it effectively means the authorities were losing money on the previous figure.
Despite the planned rise though, Porto’s tourist tax is still cheaper than Lisbon’s, which was recently doubled to €4 (£3.38) a night.
There are also exemptions for children and those with disabilities – provided they present a document of proof – while a maximum limit of a week means if you stay longer, you’ll only pay for the first seven nights.
A number of European holiday hotspots have introduced similar fees or increased existing ones this year, including Venice, Barcelona, and Lake Como.
The Algarve in Portugal now asks visitors to cough up £1.70 per person per night, for up to a week between the months of March and September – potentially adding nearly £50 to the cost of a family’s one-week beach holiday.
Porto first introduced its tourist tax – which applies to nationals as well as foreigners – in 2018, ‘to respond to the growth of activity in the city’.
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These changes are set to be further discussed by officials this week, but have been widely backed by the council, suggesting they could come into effect sooner rather than later.
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