The historic Belgian city of Bruges is set to apply tourist taxes to a wider range of visitors from 2027 when cruise passengers and members of coach parties will be charged new levies. If approved, the next five-year policy plan for the city will bring in the change as part of efforts to align the costs applied to different types of tourist and to relieve strain on public services in the highly popular West Flanders destination.
Under the new regime, those disembarking from cruise ships in the port of Zeebrugge, which is less than 20 km from Bruges, as well as coach tour arrivals, will have to pay the same €4 fee as overnight guests in the city’s hotel accommodation.
Daytrippers not spending enough
Cities, towns, and municipalities across Belgium have the right to impose tourist taxes to contribute to the burden of services and boost public finances. Bruges has been charging an overnight hotel guest fee for many years. The amount is added to accommodation bills and is currently set at €4 per night.
In 2024, nearly eight million visitors went to Bruges but the vast majority were daytrippers who did not stay overnight or pay the €4 tax. With regular complaints of overcrowding in the UNESCO-recognised city’s cobbled streets and squares, and insinuations that some daytrippers do not spend enough cash, questions have been asked about whether the right people are being targeted by the tourist levy.
“If tourists on an overnight stay have to pay four euros, we think a cruise tourist should also have to pay four euros,’ said city mayor Dirk De Fauw. ‘Because now cruise tourists pay nothing. And that while they hardly spend anything in our restaurants and shops!”
Nearly €1.5 million extra could be raised
Referring to Port of Antwerp-Bruges data for Zeebrugge, tourism alderman Minou Esquenet noted that: “We know from research that 10 per cent of passengers stay on board. Of those who do leave the ship, 73% visit the city centre. If you apply these percentages, you arrive at over 366,000 cruise tourists who visited Bruges city centre in 2024.”
Putting aside coach trip visitors then, Travel Tomorrow calculations show that if the tourist levy had been applied to cruise passengers in 2024, the city would have raised nearly €1.5 million in additional tax revenue. That figure could reach over €2.2 million if future plans go ahead to apply the tax to every cruise ship passenger, whether they come ashore or not.
Bruges is not the only sensitive historic city that is struggling to cope with tourist footfall and reconsidering the way it charges visitors. Venice has also focused on daytrippers, introducing an entry fee in spring 2024, payable at access points around the city. Unlike Bruges however, some Venetian residents have complained that it is overnight visitors who trundle suitcases through the narrow streets that are the problem.
