Iceland, a Nordic country, plans to introduce a tax on tourists in order to support its climate and sustainability goals.
Iceland’s Prime Minister, Katrin Jakobsdottir told journalists that tourism has grown dramatically in Iceland over the past decade.
Iceland’s tourism boomed after the COVID-19 locksdowns. Over 8.5 million tourists visited Iceland in 2022.
Jakobsdottir stated that the tax “would not be high” and would be administered as municipal taxes for visitors to Iceland. However, no details on the price were provided.
Jakobsdottir said that her administration works closely with travel agents across the country to implement environmental-friendly measures, such a switching to electric cars.
In many places, tourism taxes are already in place to encourage investment by local communities. Tourism taxes that encourage sustainability initiatives are growing in popularity around the globe. For example, in Bali, starting 2024, tourists will be required to pay an additional $10 tourism tax to support conservation efforts.
The travel industry as a whole has been making more efforts to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly. United Airlines, for example, has set a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey also announced a plan to reach net-zero emission by that year.
