Vienna doubles tourist tax, hoteliers warn it could cripple tourism

Vienna announced a steep increase in its tourist tax after a record year of visitor arrivals. The levy will rise from the current 3.2% to 5% at the start of July 2026 and will climb to 8% in July 2027, making the city’s rate the second‑highest in Europe after Amsterdam’s 12.5%.

Hotel industry spokesperson Martin Stanits, speaking for the Austrian Hotel Association, warned that the hike could “kill the milk cow of tourism,” arguing that hotels are already under pressure from rising energy, wage and food costs. Tourism agencies echoed the concern, noting that a 12‑euro surcharge on airline tickets already exists and that low‑cost carrier Ryanair is shifting flights to nearby Bratislava, Slovakia, potentially eroding Vienna’s attractiveness.

City officials defended the measure as a fair way to share the cost of maintaining Vienna’s high‑quality public infrastructure, which benefits both residents and visitors. Isabella Rauter of the Vienna Tourism Office described the tax as an “investment in the future of the destination,” intended to keep the capital competitive with other Central European capitals such as Prague and Budapest.