Key Takeaways
- Amsterdam raises its tourist tax from 12.5% to 16% in 2027, then one point a year to 20% by 2031.
- Barcelona is not renewing the licences of all 10,101 tourist apartments when they expire in November 2028.
- Palma de Mallorca cuts average daily cruise berths from 8,500 to 7,500, June to September only, for 2027 to 2029.
- Athens has extended its freeze on new short-term rental registrations in three central districts through the end of 2027.
- None of these ban tourism. They change what you pay and where you can stay, and two of them change it before you travel.
Four European cities have confirmed rule changes that take effect between 2027 and 2028. Amsterdam's tourist tax rises to 16% in 2027, Barcelona ends all 10,101 tourist apartment licences in November 2028, Palma limits summer cruise berths from 2027, and Athens has frozen new short-term rental registrations in its centre through 2027. The practical effect is on accommodation cost and availability, not on entry.
"Overtourism crackdown" headlines tend to blur into each other. These four are worth separating out, because they are confirmed, dated, and they change concrete things about booking a trip.
Amsterdam: the highest tourist tax in Europe
Amsterdam's tourist tax rises from 12.5% to 16% of the accommodation price in 2027, then increases by one percentage point each year until it reaches 20% in 2031.
It is worth being precise about what that means, because a percentage tax behaves differently from the flat per-night fee most cities charge. At 16%, a 200 EUR room carries 32 EUR of tax per night. At 20%, it is 40 EUR. The tax scales with the room, so it lands hardest on exactly the mid-range and upper-range stays most visitors book.
The city is also closing the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam to sea cruise ships, removing cruise arrivals from the city centre entirely.
| City | What changes | When |
|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam | Tourist tax 12.5% to 16%, rising to 20% | 2027, reaching 20% in 2031 |
| Barcelona | All 10,101 tourist apartment licences expire | November 2028 |
| Palma de Mallorca | Average daily cruise berths 8,500 to 7,500, summer only | 2027 to 2029 |
| Athens | Freeze on new short-term rental registrations, districts 1 to 3 | Through end of 2027 |
Barcelona: every tourist apartment licence ends in November 2028
Barcelona is not renewing any of the 10,101 licences currently held by short-term tourist apartments in the city. They expire in November 2028 and will not be reissued.
This is the most far-reaching measure of the four, and it has already survived its legal challenge: Spain's Constitutional Court upheld the plan in March 2025, rejecting the argument that it violated private property rights. The city's stated reason is housing, not crowd control. Rents in Barcelona rose by 68% over the past decade.
For a traveller, the practical consequence arrives gradually rather than overnight. Legal short-term rental supply in Barcelona shrinks toward zero across 2027 and 2028, which pushes demand into hotels. If you have a habit of booking apartments in Barcelona, that option has an expiry date on it.
Palma de Mallorca: fewer cruise passengers, but only in summer
Palma's agreement, signed by the Balearic government, the city council, twenty cruise lines and the industry body CLIA, reduces the average daily cruise berths from 8,500 to 7,500 between June and September, for the seasons from 2027 to 2029. Outside those four months the figure stays at 8,500. The wider agreement runs to 2031.
The existing cap of three ships per day, with only one permitted to carry more than 5,000 passengers, is maintained.
This is a real but modest change, and it is worth reading precisely: a 12% reduction in the summer daily average, not a cut to cruise tourism generally. Local campaigners have argued publicly that it is too small to matter.
Athens: the short-term rental freeze runs through 2027
Athens froze new short-term rental registrations in its central districts in January 2025. That freeze has been extended through the end of 2027, covering the 1st, 2nd and 3rd municipal districts.
The 1st district takes in most of what a visitor thinks of as central Athens: Plaka, Monastiraki, Syntagma, Omonia, Kolonaki, Exarcheia and Koukaki.
Properties already registered continue to operate, so this is not a ban on renting an apartment in central Athens. It caps the supply at its current level while demand keeps rising, which over time means higher prices for the apartments that are already in the system.
What this actually means for booking a trip
None of these measures restricts entry. You do not need permission to visit any of these cities, and nothing here is comparable to Venice's day-tripper fee.
What they change is accommodation:
- In Amsterdam, budget for the tax explicitly. At 16% of the room rate it is no longer a rounding error, and many booking flows show it only at the final step.
- In Barcelona, the apartment option is closing. For trips in 2028 and beyond, plan on hotels.
- In Athens, expect apartment prices in the centre to firm up rather than fall, since supply is frozen while demand is not.
- In Palma, the cruise change affects day-visitor crowding in summer more than it affects anyone staying on the island.
The common thread is that the cost of a stay is moving, quietly, through taxes and supply rules rather than through prices you see when you search. That is exactly the kind of cost that does not show up until checkout.
Navoy is an AI travel agent that plans the trip, books the hotel and arranges the airport transfer in one platform, which makes the total easier to see before you commit to a city.
FAQ
How much is the tourist tax in Amsterdam in 2027?
Amsterdam's tourist tax rises to 16% of the accommodation price in 2027, up from 12.5%. It then increases by one percentage point per year until it reaches 20% in 2031. On a 200 EUR room, 16% is 32 EUR per night.
Is Barcelona banning Airbnb?
Barcelona is not renewing the licences of all 10,101 registered tourist apartments when they expire in November 2028, which effectively ends legal short-term tourist rentals in the city. Spain's Constitutional Court upheld the measure in March 2025. Existing licences run until that November 2028 expiry.
Can I still rent an apartment in central Athens?
Yes. Properties already registered before the freeze continue to operate normally. What is frozen is new registrations in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd municipal districts, and that freeze now runs through the end of 2027.
Are cruise ships banned from Palma de Mallorca?
No. Palma keeps its cap of three ships per day with only one over 5,000 passengers, and reduces the average daily berths from 8,500 to 7,500 for June through September in the 2027 to 2029 seasons. Outside those months the 8,500 average is unchanged.
Sources
- Travel Weekly: Palma to reduce cruise ship berths in summer from 2027 - the 8,500 to 7,500 summer berth reduction for 2027 to 2029, the three-ships-per-day cap, the one-ship-over-5,000-passengers rule, and the agreement running to 2031
- idealista: Barcelona sets 2028 deadline to phase out tourist flats - the 10,101 licences, the November 2028 expiry, and the 68% decade rent rise
- NOS: Belasting in Amsterdam op overnachting - the Amsterdam tourist tax rise to 16% in 2027 and the stepped path to 20%
- EU Tourism Transition Pathway: Europe's new tourist rules explained - the wider European context on tourist taxes, caps and limits
All figures verified 23 September 2026.
Related reading: tourist taxes in 2026, what happened to Tulum, and hotel fees that are not in the price.
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About the Author
Ranym Garali
Ranym is the Marketing and Content Lead at Navoy. She's been writing about travel for two years and digs into the data behind each piece, flight prices, visa rules and what people are actually searching for , so the advice holds up in practice.
