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# Tourist tax: what it is, where you pay it and why it wasn't in your booking

> It turns up at check-in and throws you. How it works, who collects it, who is exempt and how to budget for it.

[Home](https://getgigapass.com/en) › [Blog](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog) › Tourist tax: what it is, where you pay it and why it wasn't in your booking

Money and insurance

It turns up at check-in and throws you. How it works, who collects it, who is exempt and how to budget for it.

**Nerea Aguilar** 10 Aug 2026 5 min Photo by Hasmik Ghazaryan Olson on Unsplash

In this article › How it works › Who is usually exempt › How to budget for it › And the places that don't charge it

You book a hotel, pay in advance, and on arrival they ask for a few more per person per night. It isn't a mistake or an attempt to sneak something past you: it is a public tax the accommodation collects on behalf of the town or the region.

## How it works

- It is set by a city, a region or a country, not by the hotel.
- It is usually charged per person per night, and sometimes varies with the category of the accommodation.
- It is almost always paid at the destination, at check-in or check-out.
- Many booking platforms leave it out of the price they show, and mention it in the small print.

## Who is usually exempt

Children under a certain age are normally exempt or pay less, and there are often night limits beyond which it stops being charged. The details change from city to city, so the source is the town hall or regional website, not the hotel.

## How to budget for it

On a single-city trip it is loose change. On a five-city route with two people and fourteen nights, it stops being loose change. The simple way is to add it to the nightly price when comparing places to stay, which is where it actually changes the decision.

The rest of the items people forget are in [how to work out a trip budget](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/travel-budget).

## And the places that don't charge it

If a place doesn't charge you, that doesn't make it cheaper: it may be included, or they may not be complying. In the first case they will tell you; in the second the problem isn't yours, but it is worth having the receipt.

General information: the amounts, the exemptions and the deadlines are set by each administration and they change. Check the official website for your destination.

Know where you're going?

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[See destinations](https://getgigapass.com/en#destinos)

Nerea AguilarTravelling connected

She has spent eight years writing about travelling without running out of data. What happens after you land interests her more than the spec sheet.

## Frequently asked questions

**What is the tourist tax?**

A local tax set by a city, region or country that the accommodation collects on its behalf, normally per person per night.

**Why wasn't it in my booking?**

Because many platforms leave it out of the displayed price: it is paid at the destination, at check-in or check-out.

**Do children pay?**

Children under a certain age are usually exempt or pay less, but it depends on each city.

**Can it be avoided?**

No: it is a tax. What you can do is budget for it from the start by adding it to the nightly price.

## Keep reading

- [Money and insurance](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/travel-budget) | Working out a travel budget: the method that does not miss | 6 min
- [Money and insurance](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/getting-cash-abroad) | Getting cash from ATMs abroad: where, how much and when | 5 min
- [Money and insurance](https://getgigapass.com/en/blog/changing-money-for-travel) | Changing money for a trip: where it pays off and where it does not | 5 min