Clia rejects call for national levies on cruise tickets

The cruise industry trade body has hit back against a claim that a night on board a ship in Europe is taxed 40% less than a hotel.

 

The assertion was made by transport environmental group T&E as it highlighted the impact cruise ships have on the environment and overtourism.

 

A study by T&E looked at the taxes for €100 a night hotels in France, Italy and Spain, and compared them to cruises with similar prices.

 

On average, people who stay at hotels will pay 23% of the price in taxes, while cruise passengers only pay 12%.

 

Cruises are legally classified as a form of maritime transport, while in practice they function as holiday accommodation, T&E argued.

 

“This loophole allows them to avoid paying VAT and fuel taxes, among other things,” the organisation claimed.

 

“The main way to close this gap would be to implement national levies on cruise tickets,” T&E added. 

 

“Right now in the EU, only Greece has applied such a tax at a national level, ranging from €5 to €20 depending on the season. Elsewhere, cities such as Amsterdam, Barcelona or Dubrovnik have put such a system in place.”

A €15 tax per passenger per port call would raise €335 million a year in Italy, France, and Spain combined, according to T&E modelling.

 

These revenues could go back to national budgets, be earmarked for the protection of ecosystems in coastal areas or used to finance green infrastructure like onshore power supply.

But these taxes will not be enough by themselves to close the gap between the environmental cost of cruises and what they pay to compensate. 

 

T&E shipping manager Fanny Pointet said : “We are treating floating hotels like they are essential maritime infrastructure.

 

“Cruises are not a mode of transportation but the destination itself, yet we are giving them the same benefits as freight transport.

 

“Taxing cruise ships properly would help cities to tackle the pollution and to address concerns of overtourism.”

 

She added: “A cruise ship levy must be viewed as part of a broader regulatory mix. To fully mitigate the sector’s environmental footprint, parallel supply-side policies are necessary.”

 

However, a spokesperson for cruise trade association body Clia hit back.

 

They said: "Cruise cannot be accurately assessed through a selective tax comparison with hotels that fails to account for the sector’s full regulatory framework, operational complexity, environmental commitments and economic contribution.

 

"Cruise lines pay substantial port dues, passenger charges and other local fees that support port operations, infrastructure and local services, in addition to meeting wider tax and regulatory obligations as a form of ocean-going transportation.

 

"Cruise also supports a vast value chain extending far beyond the ships themselves, generating employment and economic activity across shipbuilding, ports, maritime services, local suppliers, tour operators, hospitality businesses, transport providers and destination communities around the world.

 

"It is an industry that supports more than 69,000 jobs across the UK, while delivering significant economic benefits to the destinations it serves."