Évora begins this Friday to apply the municipal tourist fee, becoming the first municipality of Alentejo to charge for overnight and raising to at least 43 the municipalities with this measure in Portugal.
The tourist rate in the municipality of Évora will be in the amount of 1.5 euros, with some exemptions.
A clarification released on Wednesday, confirmed the entry into force of the rate, despite “doubts, criticisms, suggestions and proposals” of the tour operators.
“The first months correspond to a period of adaptation” of the operators and the House “to the application and operationalization of the tourist fee, seeking, by dialogue and clarification, to answer the questions that will arise from the practice,” said the municipality.
Faced with the complaints, the municipality decided to extend the deadline for the first communication to the House regarding the August collection, initially scheduled for September 1 and 15.
Thus, the tourist operators of the county will have to make the first communication only between October 1 and 15, coinciding with the deadline of the second communication for September, and the payment in the subsequent 10 business days.
With the application of the tourist rate in Évora, the Alentejo region is no longer the only one in the country without municipalities that cover the rate, providing for the Évora Chamber a minimum annual revenue of 600 thousand euros.
Currently, of the 308 Portuguese municipalities, more than 40 already apply tourist rate, having land of Bouro, in the district of Braga, was the last to enter the list in June.
Each municipality fixes the rate and defines the application standards, but there are common criteria for all, such as exemption for children (start paying from 12 years in some cases, in other later) and people with disability equal to or greater than 60%, in addition to citizens hosted for medical treatments.
The maximum fee charged until this month in Portugal is four euros per night, which happens in Lisbon since last September.
In mid-July, the Secretary of State for Tourism, Commerce and Services, Pedro Machado, defended the “rationalization” of the application of the tourist rate in Portugal, considering that the current disparity and municipal management do not always guarantee “added value and advantage” for the sector.
Also read:
