Travellers planning to reach the Madeira archipelago from the second half of this year will be charged a €2 tax, the Portuguese authorities have announced.
The tourist tax will be applied to both foreign and domestic visitors.
The President of the Association of Municipalities of the Autonomous Regions (AMRAM), Pedro Calado revealed that the board agreed on this amount, as reported by Lusa, the Portuguese News Agency.
However, he noted that all municipalities, except Ponta do Sol, were present at the meeting, where there was almost a consensus to establish uniform rules for all local councils.
It was agreed that we should have an application of €2 per guest per night, for a maximum of seven nights, exempting children up to the age of 13 and also [adults] for health reasons or for issues indicated by social security.
Taking into account that the process has to be reviewed from multiple municipal bodies and also go through a public consultation, this measure is expected to come into effect in the second half of this year, according to Calado.
Moreover, municipalities need to establish a proper computerised system which is capable of integrating with all types of tourism units, including Madeira’s farms, short-term rental accommodations, and hotels.
Hotel establishments will receive a 2.5 per cent commission, whereas the remaining amount will be transferred to the municipal councils.
Each town council will apply [the tax money] according to what is defined in its regulations, but it was also generally agreed that this application should always be based on environmental sustainability, tourism promotion issues, preservation of green spaces and tourist use.
The Madeiran government anticipates to generate €10 million in revenue from this tax, as announced by Rogério Gouveia, the regional secretary for finance, during the presentation of the Autonomous Region of Madeira’s budget for this year.
At the moment, we estimate a revenue of €10 million, but it’s a process that is being negotiated and in dialogue with the local councils and which, naturally, will make its way through 2024.
At present, a similar tax is applied only in the municipality of Santa Cruz.
Madeira Islands was awarded as Europe’s Leading Destination in 2023 by the World Travel Awards. In this competition, the Madeira archipelago triumphed as the most favourite island among the other 12 European destinations.
Furthermore, in October last year, Madeira experienced a new record on the number of the foreign population. More specifically, 11,793 foreigners were recorded living in Madeira, which was the highest number since 2008.
