A group of European travel and tourism associations, including HOTREC, Airlines 4 Europe, and the European Federation of Rural Tourism, has expressed “deep concern” over the European Commission’s proposal to hike the cost of ETIAS travel authorisations from €7 to €20, and is calling on Europe’s legislators to reject the more expensive fee.
The nearly threefold increase on the originally proposed cost, expected to come into force in late 2026, “raises questions about proportionality and fairness” the coalition says, pointing out that the bloc’s tourism sector continues to face a triple threat from “the combined pressures of geopolitical instability, high inflation, and rising operational costs.”
🆕 Planning to visit Europe? From the end of 2026, non-EU travellers will need #ETIAS, the new European Travel Authorisation:
— EU Home Affairs (@EUHomeAffairs) July 21, 2025
✈️ to enter 30 countries.
💶 new fee: 20€
Quick online application, instant response, and exemptions for under-18s/over-70s. More details ↓
Cumulative effect on consumers
For travel consumers already facing a multiplication of tourist taxes and overnight levies, the “cumulative effect” is “not negligible”, the sector’s associations say, accusing the Commission of reneguing on the spirit of the initial 2018 agreement reached by European councillors, parliamentarians and industry stakeholders, which mooted a “modest and reasonable fee.”
A press release issued by the eight organisations, who represent a range of interests from aviation and road transport, to tour operators and agents, hospitality, and attractions, also probes the transparency of the process behind the proposed price increase, and asks whether alternative pricing models (such as €10 or €12) were considered.
It also challenges the idea of basing the price on other systems (for instance the US’s Esta and the UK’s ETA), instead of simply covering the EU scheme’s own operational costs.
The EU proposes raising the #ETIAS fee from EUR 7 to EUR 20.
— IRU (@the_IRU) July 24, 2025
IRU and the tourism sector call for:
☑️ Transparent cost assessment
☑️ A fair, evidence-based fee
☑️ Surplus funds to support tourism: infrastructure, training, sustainability
Read more ⤵️ https://t.co/pwiseWkdwA
Maintaining sector competitiveness
Due to all these reservations, the travel and tourism bodies are making three key demands. The first is that the European Commission publish an impact assessment “justifying the proposed fee increase, including a detailed cost breakdown and confirmation of whether alternative pricing models were considered.”
Indicating ahead of any such assessment that they already do not believe the fee is proportionate, the lobby also wants legislators to reject the €20 proposaland request a more evidence-based fee instead. Finally, they want any surplus ETIAS revenue to be ringfenced to support tourism infrastructure, staff training, and sustainable development.
Emphasising that the sector supports “secure, smart, and efficient borders”, the groups nonetheless note that their members deliver “valuable export revenue” to the bloc, which they argue should not be threatened by financial and administrative burdens on visitors if Europe is to maintain its competitiveness as a global travel destination.
