City Wants Greater Part Of Tourist Revenue

The City of Reykjavík wants to be able to either create their own “tourist tax” or receive a part of the current lodging tax.

Reykjavík Mayor Dagur B. Eggertsson believes that those who pay out the costs of the ever-increasing stream of tourists to Iceland should also be getting revenue from them, RÚV reports.

“We are actually pointing out that the municipalities bear the costs of upkeep and all kinds of other pressures that come with tourism,” he said. “This is why it would be natural for the lodging tax to go to the municipalities.”

To remedy this, Dagur proposes that either the lodging tax be increased, and the increase go towards municipalities, or that the lodging tax go directly to municipalities in their entirety.

It is predicted that one million tourists will visit Iceland this year, many if not most spending at least some time in the capital area, while 1.5 million are predicted to visit Iceland next year.