This is the best summary I could come up with:
In an interview with news agency Bloomberg last week, Iceland’s Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir said that a tourism tax could help combat the impact visitors have on the country’s climate and environment.
Companies in country’s the tourism sector are also improving sustainability, for example by utilising the circular economy and using electric vehicles, Jakobsdóttir added.
Tourism tax can both help these places to cope with the burden of tourists and discourage visitors to limit crowding.
It can be used to fund public transport infrastructure, reverse damage done by crowds, and support sustainability initiatives.
Such schemes are already common across Europe with levies in place in major cities like Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam and Rome.
Venice in Italy has long teased a visitor fee and recently set a launch date of summer 2024.
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Think this is more about taxing companies who have been having it good with the current tax system, the tourist that are planing to come will come.
I want to visit Iceland some day and I’d rather pay their tax than pay to visit a tourist clogged Venice. So I’m not put off. Unless it’s incredibly expensive.
🤡
Good, tourism is way too cheap for the environmental impact, the less people travel the better for the environment.
That is somewhat true but what this also causes is that poorer people have a harder time travelling and visiting other countries while rich people are unnaffected
The common good and environment of a nation has priority over cheap tourism, so I don’t necessarily see that as a problem. Especially when the number of annual tourists exceeds the population by a factor of five in the case of Iceland, I can understand why some residents would like to reduce it.
I’m not against reducing tourism. But it’s possible to do it in a way that is less elitist
Could you elaborate on the possible ways to do that?
I’m sure the entire government of Iceland, including any departments dedicated specifically to, and with decades of experience in tourism, could figure it out if they really wanted. But just charging a tax is easier, so here we are.
Considering the climate crisis we’re facing I don’t care, anything to reduce air travel. All countries should turn non-local private jets around too.
Iceland is already a pretty expensive place to visit and it’s honestly not that amazing (it’s beautiful for sure, but it didn’t stand out to me). Everywhere you go you have to pay to park and pay to camp. The food, drink, lodging, and transportation is super expensive already and a major part of their economy is built on tourist dollars. I’m curious to see how much the tax would be and how much of it goes to actually protecting their environment.
Everywhere you go you have to pay to park and pay to camp.
Whew, thanks for letting me know that.
Now I will never be going there with my own money.
Iceland is quite beautiful, I didn’t camp but I recall the park areas being quite fierce about not venturing off of walking paths to protect sensitive things like moss that take forever to grow. That may be a reason why they don’t allow dispersed camping. I’d say still go, it was beautiful in the winter and I didn’t find it too crowded or unbearably cold.
I’d like to, but I’ll just go somewhere else beautiful that doesn’t try to gouge me at every turn.
