Amsterdam is embarking on a significant tax increase targeting tourists and cruise ship passengers to bolster its budget for initiatives including additional shelter accommodations, poverty measures, and healthcare support, among other vital services. Hester van Buren, the city's finance chief, expressed the city's commitment to sparing its residents from higher costs while shifting the burden towards visitors.

The tourist tax rate is undergoing a substantial increase, rising from the previous structure of 7 percent over the room charge plus a 3 euro per person per night fee to a flat 12.5 percent calculated over the room fee. To illustrate the impact, consider a scenario where two individuals stay in a 200 euro per night room; their tax liability will increase from 20 euros to 25 euros, representing a 25 percent tax hike.

Cruise ship passengers arriving in Amsterdam will also experience an increase in fees, with each passenger now paying 11 euros per person—a nearly 38 percent rise from the previous charge of 8 euros.

The City of Amsterdam has introduced a Day Tourist Tax for transit sea cruise and river cruise passengers docking within the city's municipal boundaries. In 2019, the city increased the daily tax for cruise visitors to 8 euros per person, applicable to individuals aged 2 and above. It's important to note that crew members remain exempt from this tax.

The Dutch News reports that Hester van Buren had been talking to other cities grappling to deal with the number of tourists, such as Venice and Barcelona.

“We also have to deal with day trippers,” she said. “Of course, you can’t put up turnstiles so no-one can get into the city, but we are going to look at ways of making day visitors pay some sort of city tax.”