Poland considers new tourist fee to increase municipal revenue

A legislative proposal in the Polish Sejm aims to replace the current local fee with a new tourist-compensation fee. The project, introduced by members of the PSL and Third Way parties, would allow municipalities to collect the fee regardless of specific climatic or landscape requirements.

Under the proposal, the maximum daily rate could increase from 3.46 PLN to 10.99 PLN by 2026. Proponents estimate that if the average rate is set at 7 PLN, annual revenues could exceed 700 million PLN, with approximately 455 million PLN coming from domestic tourists.

In response to the government's intention to allocate all collected funds to local municipalities, the Polish Independent Hotels association (PHN) has appealed to Prime Minister Donald Tusk. PHN suggests that a portion of the revenue should be directed toward the Polish Tourism Organization to fund national tourism promotion, arguing that a 100% allocation to municipalities might deprive the industry of a stable source of promotional funding.