IMPOSING a tourist tax in Ireland would be akin to cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face, MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú has said.
The Ireland South MEP has been appointed to the European Parliament’s Tourism Taskforce.
She said that there are growing calls in the European Parliament in favour of tourist taxes, and noted Lisbon doubled its heir tourist tax from €2.15 to €4.30 on September 1st 2024, while Barcelona raised its tourist tax to €4 per guest in October.
Ms Ní Mhurchú said this is having a negative impact on European tourism and called on Irish authorities to resist any moves towards a tax on tourists.
Ní Mhurchú said she will ‘use her new role on the EU Tourism Taskforce to fight against tourist taxes in Europe at a time when the global tourism market is highly competitive and Europe needs to compete, in particular when it comes to attracting tourism to the more rural parts of Europe and Ireland.’
