- Plans to charge cruisers visiting Mexico postponed.
- The levy was proposed at USD$42.
- Cruise associations say it will make Mexico a less competitive destination for cruisers to want to visit.
Cruises to Mexico will be more expensive for passengers in 2025. But after industry pushback on the decision to charge passengers a USD$42 tax, it has been decided the fees won’t take effect until mid-next year.
Starting July 1, 2025, any passenger who visits a Mexican port will pay a fee of USD$42 according to the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association. The tax was meant to start on January 1, 2025.
But after a meeting between the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association and Mexican Government officials last week, it was determined the country would postpone implementing the tax.
Despite the temporary respite, the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association said it “stresses that more comprehensive measures are required to address broader concerns about the tax’s devastating impact on cruise tourism, Mexico’s economy, and the livelihoods of its coastal communities.”
But the cruise group said the concept of the tax would cost a family of four visiting a Mexican cruise port, an additional USD$168 in fees for just a few hours ashore. But tourists crossing the border by land who are visiting for seven days or less remain exempt from the tax.
The Mexican Association of Shipping Agents issued a statement last month in support of the Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association’s efforts against the tax, noting at the time that historically, cruise passengers had been exempt from Mexico’s non-resident fee, which is paid by international tourists visiting the country, because they fell under a “transit exemption.”
“However, the elimination of this exemption and the imposition of the new fee … puts at risk the competitiveness of Mexican ports, as well as the economic benefits generated by the industry,” the shipping association stated, arguing that “If the measure is implemented, Mexico could lose up to 10 million passengers and more than 3,300 ship calls in 2025, directly impacting the local economies of tourist ports and thousands of small suppliers and national companies.”
The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association also warned that “placing such a burden on cruise tourists with minimal time actually spent in Mexico will deter visitors, alter cruise itineraries, and create economic ripple effects in communities that heavily rely on cruise tourism.”
Mexico’s Congress last month, approved the measure for the levy for every passenger, whether or not they disembark the vessel, the Associated Press reported previously.
Mexico is not the first destination to impose tax on day trippers and cruise passengers – just this year, Venice has increased its fees for people visiting for the day, while the Greek Prime Minister has said that he also wishes to tax cruisers for visiting Mykonos and Santorini.
The details are still yet to be finalised of the Mexican tax.
