New cruise tax comes into effect as Europe sees mass anti-tourism demonstrations

• Greece’s new cruise tax for the islands of Santorini and Mykonos is set to come into effect on July 1.
• The tax will be absorbed into your cruise fare.
• Europe has seen mass anti-tourism demonstrations in major cities, with locals unhappy at the management of tourism.

Welcome to Europe. Greece’s new 20 Euro tax (AUD$35) for cruise passengers arriving in Santorini and Mykonos is set to come into effect from the start of July – and large anti-tourism demonstrations broke out across Spain, Italy and Portugal.

The good news is the demonstrators were mainly angry at Airbnb.

As Greece’s tax comes into effect, important to note that this cruise tax doesn’t need to be paid by guests, as cruise lines will cover it in the fare.

But this doesn’t mean it won’t have implications. Based on last season, where the famed Greek islands saw about 1.3 million visitors via cruise, this will mean cruise lines will need to spend around $45 million across the season to cover for the new tax.

Moving forward, it remains to be seen if cruise lines will be happy to continue prioritising these islands as part of its European itineraries or if it will seek alternatives, with it being a well-known fact that the cruise industry often doesn’t take kindly to new taxes and restrictions.

Travel trends have actually shown generally decreasing tourist visits for the Greek Islands, with many making their way to Turkey instead. These decreased figures might motivate Greece to stay strong with its cruise tax in order to recoup losses from seeing fewer tourists, but could also offer the cruise industry leverage as their ship visits become even more crucial to the local economy.

This comes at a time where Europe’s general climate and attitude towards tourism is in an extremely fractured state.

The large demonstrations across Spain, Italy and Portugal took place over recent days, with key cruise ports such as Barcelona and Venice, as well as other large cities such as Lisbon and Milan all seeing demonstrations.

The protests were mostly focused on the impact on tourism in pushing up the cost of living, as well as the increased popularity of short-term rental apartments, which price locals out of their own neighbourhoods as properties get bought up and rented out for tourists.

One of the organisers of the protests Daniel Padro in Barcelona made it clear that these are set to continue throughout the summer.

“The kind of tourism we have today in Barcelona is not compatible with the lives of the local population.

And he added, in a reference to last ummer’s infamous attack on diners in the Spanish city: “It is very likely the water pistols will be back. In fact, we encourage people to bring their own.”

Tourism supports about 14% of Barcelona’s GDP and 150,000 jobs. 

Cruise occupies an interesting position in the debate on overtourism. On one hand, it is advantageous as guests stay on the ship, rather than using rentals. However, a generally pro-cruise argument is that cruisers typically also take the time to stay in a city for several nights before or after a cruise.

With anti-tourist demonstrations set to continue, while it’s unlikely cruisers should have to worry about safety it may be worth keeping an eye on the news or asking crew on the ship if they should expect any demonstrations in port. 

For the moment cruise fares and itineraries should remain mostly unaffected, but the next few years of European cruise and travel could look very different depending on how demonstrations proceed and local governments respond.