As global visitor numbers rebound to record highs, a growing list of destinations is hardening its stance on mass tourism.

Norway has now confirmed that it will join the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Thailand, Japan, Greece, Italy and other countries in rolling out tougher entry rules and higher tourism-related fees between now and 2026.

From new tourist taxes and climate levies to stricter visa-style authorizations, governments are betting that higher costs and tighter controls will curb overtourism while funding sustainability measures in the years ahead.

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Norway’s New Tourist Tax Signals a Turning Point

Norway, long seen as a pristine escape of fjords and Arctic wilderness, has confirmed it will introduce a national framework for tourist taxes from summer 2026.

The tax will be phased in and applied locally rather than as a blanket national charge, but it marks the country’s most significant step yet to directly price tourism’s environmental footprint.

Under the model approved by the government, municipalities will need to demonstrate pressure on infrastructure and the natural environment before they are allowed to levy the new fee.

Once approved, they will be able to charge a 3 percent tax on paid accommodations, including hotels, guesthouses and short term rentals, with cruise passengers also brought into the system.

Motorhome pitches and tents are expected to be exempt to avoid penalizing low-impact, budget-conscious visitors.

Officials point to record visitor numbers as a key driver. Norwegian accommodation providers registered more than 38 million guest nights in 2024, with hotspots such as the Lofoten Islands, Geirangerfjord and Preikestolen struggling to cope with trail erosion, traffic congestion and pressure on public services.

Local councils have argued that residents are effectively subsidizing tourism through their taxes and that a dedicated visitor levy is needed to fund toilets, hiking paths, signage and waste management.

Norway’s move is also political. The government has framed the tax as a way to support “quality tourism” rather than simply more tourism, aligning with broader climate and biodiversity goals.

By tying the fee to overnight stays and cruise visits, authorities hope to capture more revenue from the most intensive forms of travel while maintaining the country’s image as an open and welcoming destination, especially for longer-stay and nature-focused visitors.

Europe Tightens the Screws: UK, France, Italy and Greece

Across Europe, a patchwork of new fees and entry rules is converging into a more restrictive landscape for international travelers, particularly from outside the Schengen area.

The United Kingdom is in the final stages of rolling out its Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system, a pre-authorization requirement that will cover most visa-exempt visitors by 2025 and 2026.

The scheme, similar to the United States’ ESTA, carries a per-person fee and requires advance registration, turning previously frictionless arrivals into a more controlled and data-rich process.

France is preparing to fully align with the European Union’s new Entry/Exit System and the long-delayed ETIAS travel authorization, both expected to be in place by 2026.

These systems will add biometric checks and a paid authorization requirement for non-EU, visa-exempt travelers entering the Schengen area.

While marketed as security tools, they also serve as de facto tourism filters and revenue generators, arriving at a time when overtourism complaints in Paris, the French Riviera and alpine regions are mounting.

In Italy, municipal and regional authorities are pushing even further. Venice has reinstated and expanded its controversial day-tripper entry fee, charging most short-stay visitors 5 euros on peak days and doubling the price for those who book within three days of arrival.

The charge is being applied on a growing number of high-demand days in spring and summer, as the city grapples with up to 30 million day visitors a year overwhelming narrow streets and fragile canals.

Local politicians openly describe the fee as both a deterrent and a tool to collect data for future caps.

Greece has overhauled its long-standing hotel stay tax, replacing it with a higher “Climate Resilience Fee” from 2024 that was further stepped up at the start of 2025.

The charge varies by season and star rating, ranging in peak season from 2 euros per night at one and two star hotels to 15 euros at five star properties, with similar or higher rates for larger villas and short term rentals.

The government has explicitly linked the revenue to funding wildfire response, flood defenses and other climate adaptation projects after a series of devastating summers.

Japan and Thailand Pivot From Volume to Value

Asia’s tourism powerhouses are also reshaping their approach as visitor numbers roar back beyond pre pandemic levels.

Japan, which welcomed a record 35 million tourists in 2024 and continued to climb in 2025, is combining local and national measures to dampen the most disruptive impacts of mass tourism.

In Kyoto, the country’s best known cultural city and a flashpoint for overtourism, authorities have approved the steepest hotel tax in Japan’s history. From 2026, visitors staying in the city will face a tiered accommodation levy that scales with room price.

Those in the most luxurious hotels, paying above 100,000 yen per night, will be charged a 10,000 yen nightly tax, while mid range stays will also see their existing fees doubled or more.

The move is designed to shift part of the burden of managing crowding in districts such as Gion, where residents have long complained about tour groups, litter and intrusive behavior toward geisha.

Nationally, the government is debating a major increase to the country’s “sayonara tax,” the departure levy introduced in 2019.

Proposals under discussion include tripling the fee from 1,000 yen to 3,000 yen within the 2026 fiscal year, and potentially charging higher rates to business and premium class travelers.

Officials argue that the extra revenue is necessary to bolster transport infrastructure, expand visitor management at famous sites and invest in regional destinations beyond the Tokyo Kyoto Osaka corridor.

Thailand, a magnet for mass tourism for decades, has taken a more hesitant route but is ultimately moving in the same direction.

After multiple delays tied to weaker than expected arrivals, the government has now pushed its long discussed 300 baht entry fee to mid 2026.

The charge, first approved in principle in 2023, will apply primarily to visitors arriving by air, with a reduced rate for those coming by land or sea.

Authorities say the money will be earmarked for traveler insurance and tourism infrastructure upgrades, including safety improvements at crowded beaches and islands.

Even before the national fee, Thai destinations such as Koh Tao, Phi Phi and Maya Bay have experimented with local park charges, daily visitor caps and seasonal closures.

Officials increasingly describe these measures as non-negotiable tools to protect reefs, marine life and shoreline communities from the environmental shocks of unsustainable visitor density.

United States and UK Lean on Screening and Cost Signals

The United States, which already charges for its ESTA travel authorization and a range of national park and resort fees, is using incremental increases and tighter enforcement rather than headline grabbing new taxes to manage pressure on popular sites.

Recent years have seen a rapid expansion of advance reservation systems and dynamic pricing at major national parks, particularly in the American West, where record visitation has collided with wildfire risks, water shortages and crumbling infrastructure.

Glacier, Arches, Yosemite and Rocky Mountain national parks now routinely require timed entry permits or advance parking bookings during high season, often accompanied by new or higher fees.

Some high demand campgrounds and backcountry areas have shifted to variable pricing that rises on peak dates.

While not framed explicitly as overtourism taxes, these mechanisms are designed to curb last minute crowd surges and shift demand toward shoulder seasons, while generating additional funds for trail maintenance, shuttles and wildfire mitigation.

The UK’s ETA, which is being phased in by nationality and mode of entry, fits into the same pattern of using bureaucracy and fees to regulate tourism flows.

Visitors from the Gulf states and Jordan were among the first to be covered by the system, with broader rollouts for other visa exempt nationalities in 2025 and 2026.

Once fully live, most short stay travelers who previously could simply show up at the border will need to obtain a paid authorization in advance, providing personal and travel data that can be used to monitor and forecast visitor volumes.

Both countries argue that these tools improve security and resilience rather than explicitly targeting tourists.

Yet for travelers, the net effect is the same as more direct tourist taxes: higher upfront costs, more paperwork and a shift away from spontaneous, low planning trips in favor of more considered, longer lead travel.

From Overtourism Backlash to Sustainability Narrative

The acceleration of new fees and restrictions in the run-up to 2026 reflects a fundamental shift in how governments and communities perceive tourism.

Once celebrated almost uncritically as an engine of jobs and growth, mass tourism is increasingly viewed as a source of social tension and environmental risk when left unmanaged.

Residents in cities such as Barcelona, Venice, Amsterdam and Kyoto have staged protests against cruise ships, stag party tourism and the proliferation of short term rentals that push up housing costs.

Rural and coastal communities from Norway’s fjords to Thailand’s islands have decried litter, trail damage, noise and the transformation of traditional livelihoods into seasonal service work.

Climate change has added another layer of urgency, as hotter summers and extreme weather strain destinations just as visitor numbers climb.

In response, policymakers are reframing new taxes and entry systems as sustainability tools rather than anti-tourist measures.

Norway’s tourist tax is explicitly tied to funding trail upkeep and sanitation in overwhelmed nature areas. Greece’s Climate Resilience Fee channels revenue into disaster preparedness and recovery after wildfires and floods.

Venice frames its entrance charge as both a way to manage congestion and to sustain public services for a shrinking resident population.

At the same time, there is growing talk of “quality over quantity.” By raising the cost of visiting and privileging longer, higher-value stays over quick hit daytrips or ultra cheap weekend breaks, destinations hope to attract visitors who spend more per trip, travel at off-peak times and show greater interest in local culture and nature.

The risk, critics warn, is that such policies effectively turn popular cities and landscapes into gated playgrounds for the affluent, squeezing out budget travelers and younger visitors.

What Travelers Should Expect by 2026

For travelers planning international trips over the next two years, the emerging picture is one of higher prices, more complex planning and sharper differences between destination types.

Urban centers and iconic natural sites with acute crowding issues are leading the way with new or higher fees, advance booking requirements and digital permits.

More remote regions and lesser-known towns, by contrast, are often courting visitors with incentives and promotions, hoping to siphon traffic away from saturated hotspots.

By 2026, visitors to Europe can expect to navigate multiple overlapping systems: EU level authorizations such as ETIAS, national or regional hotel or climate levies, and local municipal entrance or daytrip fees in places like Venice or certain Alpine valleys.

In Asia, international tourists will face higher departure taxes and accommodation levies in Japan, a national entry fee in Thailand and a growing patchwork of conservation charges in national parks and marine reserves.

In Scandinavia, Norway’s tourist tax framework may inspire similar moves in neighboring countries, particularly in heavily visited fjord regions and Arctic gateways.

Meanwhile, North America is likely to continue its trend toward reservation-heavy national parks and more dynamic pricing for public lands and urban attractions, even if outright national tourist taxes remain politically sensitive.

Travel experts advise building extra flexibility and budget into trip planning, monitoring destination specific rules close to departure and considering shoulder season or lesser known locations to avoid the worst of new surcharges and congestion.

While the era of “cheap and easy” mass tourism may be fading, supporters of the new policies argue that the trade off could be a more sustainable and enjoyable experience for both visitors and host communities.

FAQ

Q1. What exactly is Norway planning to introduce in 2026?
Norway is preparing a national framework that will allow municipalities to introduce a 3 percent tourist tax on paid accommodations and cruise passengers from summer 2026, with each locality required to justify the levy based on pressure on infrastructure and the environment.

Q2. How are these new fees and restrictions connected to overtourism?
Governments argue that higher visitor charges and tighter entry controls help manage excessive crowds, reduce last minute surges, and generate dedicated funding for infrastructure, environmental protection and community services in destinations that are struggling with high tourist numbers.

Q3. Will these taxes apply to every visitor, including locals?
Most of the new measures target international tourists and non resident visitors, though some, such as hotel or climate fees in Greece and Japan, may also apply to domestic travelers who stay in commercial accommodations, depending on how each law is written.

Q4. How will Venice’s daytrip fee work in practice?
Venice charges most daytrippers a standard entry fee on selected high demand days, with a higher rate for those who book within three days of arrival. Visitors must register in advance and carry a scannable code that can be checked at key entry points, while overnight guests and local residents are generally exempt but still need to register.

Q5. What changes are coming in Japan that travelers should budget for?
Travelers to Japan should anticipate higher accommodation taxes in Kyoto from 2026, especially at mid range and luxury hotels, and a likely increase in the national departure tax during the 2026 fiscal year, which would raise the cost of leaving the country by air or sea.

Q6. Is Thailand’s 300 baht entry fee already in force?
No. After several delays, Thailand has postponed the introduction of its 300 baht tourism fee to the middle of 2026, when it is expected to be applied primarily to visitors arriving by air, with reduced rates for land and sea arrivals.

Q7. How does the UK’s ETA affect tourists from visa exempt countries?
The UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation requires many visa exempt travelers to apply online, pay a fee and receive approval before boarding transport to the country, turning previously visa free short visits into a process similar to the US ESTA system.

Q8. What is Greece’s Climate Resilience Fee and who pays it?
Greece’s Climate Resilience Fee is a nightly charge on hotel stays and short term rentals, with rates varying by season and accommodation category. It is paid by guests directly at the property and is intended to fund disaster preparedness and climate adaptation measures.

Q9. Are budget travelers being priced out by these changes?
Some critics argue that higher taxes and mandatory permits disproportionately affect budget and younger travelers, while wealthier visitors are less sensitive to extra costs. Authorities counter that modest per night or per trip fees are necessary to preserve destinations and can be offset by choosing lower cost accommodation or traveling off peak.

Q10. How can travelers minimize the impact of new fees on their trips?
Travelers can reduce the impact by planning further in advance, traveling in shoulder seasons to avoid dynamic pricing and peak surcharges, staying longer in fewer destinations, choosing accommodations with transparent tax policies, and seeking out lesser known regions that actively welcome visitors and often have lower or no special tourism levies.