The Greek tourist board has defended a move to increase its tourism levy in light of fresh scrutiny of destinations for “jumping on” green taxes.
Greece recently announced a rise in its climate resilience fee on hotels and other accommodation, including a new levy for cruise passengers, to address sustainability issues in the destination.
The tax will rise from April to October, with hikes of between 0.5 euros to 5 euros depending on the accommodation type. The levy was initially introduced in January this year.
More: Destinations warned not to ‘jump on green taxes’ without justification
Speaking in a panel debate at Abta’s Travel Convention, Eleni Skarveli, UK & Ireland director of the Greek National Tourism Organisation, said she did not believe a rise in the tax would cause a problem for incoming tourists.
“I don’t think this is an issue,” she said.
Responding to comments by easyJet bosses that tourism taxes could hit demand by increasing the cost of family holidays, with chief executive Johan Lundgren suggesting a rise of £6 per person on airfares would be enough to damage demand, she said: “I would be happy to pay £6 more to have a sustainable conscience, if it was going to a good cause.”
But she added: “I do understand frustration from the market and the commercial side. But it’s a tax [resulting] from the climate crisis. It will go back into sustainability [projects].”
She argued tour operators could make the tax more digestible for customers by tailoring their offers in the market, for example by offering “two days for free” within a package holiday.
“You don’t have to do it as an extra charge. There are commercial ways when it comes to pricing,” she said, adding that so far this year the levy had not affected tourism numbers.
EasyJet holidays chief executive Garry Wilson said destinations were “all jumping on green taxes” but urged them to show a direct link to sustainability projects to make the holiday cost rises more acceptable to customers.