The Alentejo region is the only one in the country without any municipality that covers or has already approved the tourist tax, to this day, although in Évora the chamber decided, in September 2024, to begin the procedure for creating its regulations. The project is currently in the consultation phase.

According to a count carried out by Lusa, considering the charges in force this month of January, of the 278 municipalities on the continent, 27 already apply the tourist tax and at least six others plan to start this year.

Of the total of 308 Portuguese municipalities, 40 are already charging and in nine the initiative is in line to start in 2025.

In Madeira, seven of the 11 municipalities currently charge two euros per night, for a maximum of seven nights. Funchal, Santa Cruz, Santana, Ponta do Sol, Machico, Ribeira Brava and Calheta already have the measure, while Câmara de Lobos, São Vicente and Porto Santo plan to start it in 2025. That leaves, in the region, Porto Moniz, which has not apply a fee.

In addition to what already happens in Lisbon, the capital of Madeira charges a fee on visitors arriving by sea, with a fixed unit value of two euros per passenger disembarking from a cruise ship in transit.

In the Azores, only visitors from the six municipalities on the island of São Miguel, out of the 19 in the archipelago, today start paying a fee of two euros per day for an overnight stay, up to a maximum of three nights. At stake are Ponta Delgada, Ribeira Grande, Lagoa, Vila Franca do Campo, Povoação and Nordeste.

According to the president of the Association of Municipalities of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, Alexandre Gaudêncio, “all municipalities in São Miguel, in this first phase, were concerned with approving the respective regulations, which have already been submitted to […] municipal assemblies”.

In mainland Portugal, each municipality sets its own rate and defines application standards, but there are criteria common to all, such as exemption from payment for children (they start paying from the age of 12 in some cases, in others later) and people with disabilities equal to or greater than 60%, in addition to citizens who are staying for medical treatments.

There are also municipalities that exclude the tourist tax, at least for one night, for those who are on a religious pilgrimage to Fátima or Santiago de Compostela, as is the case of Porto and Caminha, the latter since September.

Just like Caminha, Viana do Castelo exempts, in addition to all other exceptions, those who, due to conflict and displaced from their countries of origin, temporarily reside in Portugal.

The maximum fee charged until this month in Portugal is four euros per night, which has been the case in Lisbon since last September. In the capital, the payment began to be applied in January 2016 on overnight stays of national tourists (including Lisbon residents) and foreigners in hotels or local accommodation “up to a maximum of seven nights per guest and per stay”, with guests under the age of 10 being exempt.

Initially, the price was one euro per night, but in January 2019 it increased to two euros and four months ago it doubled.

In 2024, Lisbon also started charging the tourist tax for arrival by sea: two euros per passenger over 13 years old who disembark from a cruise ship in transit.