Mexico slaps cruise passengers with new tourist tax, fee set to quadruple by 2027
Starting this week, cruise passengers arriving in Mexico will be hit with a new tourist tax, a move that has stirred tensions between the cruise industry and the Mexican government, and left some local business owners fearing for their livelihoods, as per a report.
New $5 Cruise Passenger Fee Begins This Week in Mexico
The $5-per-passenger fee, which applies every time a cruise ship docks at a Mexican port, is set to gradually rise to $21 by 2027, as reported by New York Post. The charge will be folded into the price of the cruise, similar to how airlines include Mexico's tourist tax in airfare, according to the report.
Rubén Olmos Rodríguez, who has participated in the tax talks and runs advisory firm Global Nexus, told the Wall Street Journal, 'The Mexican government's perspective is: 'OK, fine, you bring prosperity. But you need to pay accordingly, like other tourists pay when they come via an airplane,'' as quoted by New York Post.
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Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association analysed that the new tax will be in addition to the port fees that cruise lines have already paid for years, which is an average of $28.85 per passenger in Cozumel, as per the report. The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association estimated that approximately 3,300 cruise ships are projected to stop in Mexican ports this year, bringing about 10 million passengers with them, as reported by the New York Post.
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Cruise Lines Push Back on the New Tax
While the tax has been reduced from the original $42 proposed by officials, major cruise operators
Royal Caribbean
and other cruise operators are pushing back by arguing that it drops off passengers who patronise Mexican businesses, as reported by New York Post.
Local Business Owners Worry About Impact
Meanwhile, the local business owners have voiced their concerns that the tax could discourage tourists from booking cruises that stop in Mexico, according to the report. Carmen Joaquín, who owns a duty-free shop and serves as president of Cozumel's business coordinating council told the New York Post, 'We, as business owners, were very concerned, because Cozumel lives on cruise tourism,' as quoted in the report.
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According to the report, the cruise operator for months had worked together with local officials over taxation, hiring and local investment requirements, as government officials pressured the company to employ more Mexican workers and use more Mexican products across its supply chain.
Tourist Tax To Help Avoid Social Program Cuts
However, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has highlighted that, the new tourist tax is a way to lower the nation's budget deficit without having to cut social programmes, as reported by the New York Post.
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FAQs
How much is the new tourist tax in Mexico?
It starts at $5 per passenger this week and will rise to $21 by 2027.
Why is Mexico charging cruise passengers a new tax?
The government wants cruise tourists to pay the same kind of tax that aeroplane passengers already do, as part of broader efforts to boost public revenue, as per the New York Post report.
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