Overview
- The Comisión de Hacienda approved the dictamen for Gipuzkoa’s tourist tax Wednesday, moving the measure one step from final enactment and scheduling it to start on 1 January 2027.
- Seven negotiated amendments raised the top daily caps to €9.75 for five‑star hotels and up to €10.50 for cruise passengers and will define how the levy is applied across accommodation types.
- The package won broad cross‑party backing from PNV, PSE, Elkarrekin Podemos and EH Bildu, while the PP abstained or opposed the specific corrections, leaving final approval to the Juntas Generales.
- The Gobierno Vasco’s Ibiltur Ocio 2025 report, based on over 28,000 accommodation surveys, shows low‑season arrivals now at 51% of total visits and international tourists at 48%, lengthening stays and spending.
- Gipuzkoa concentrates nearly half of intra‑Basque excursions (44.5%) with Donostia alone at 28.2%, a pattern policymakers cite to justify the tax as a tool to manage visitor flows, extend stays and fund local services.