The Tourism Association of Cascais (ATC) approved the application of a tourist tax on overnight stays in the county, to apply from 2017. The proposal was submitted to the local authority and by all indications will be approved, once the mayor of Cascais, Carlos Carreiras, is also the president of the General Assembly of the ATC, where it was approved the proposal.
The proposal refers to the implementation of a tourist tax of 1 euro, to be charged on overnight stays in Cascais, up to a maximum of 5 euros. "The model is similar to Lisbon," said the vice-president of the Chamber of Cascais, Miguel Pinto Luz, with the exception of the maximum limit of overnight stays in which the fee is charged: 5 days in Cascais, 7 days in Lisbon.
In statements to the PUBLIC, Pinto Light, has confirmed the approval of the measure at an extraordinary general meeting of the ATC, where "more than 70% of the members voted in favor" – members that includes owners, hoteliers and local housing agencies, tourism and hospitality. The president of the Association of Directors of Hotels in Portugal (ADHP), Raul Ribeiro Ferreira, opposes stating that the rate was approved with the votes against of the hotels, because "the ACT represents more than the hotel sector."
Raul Ribeiro Ferreira stated to the PUBLIC that, as a representative of the sector, the association is not against the existence of tourist taxes, but against its application without considering its profitability for the hotel units." The ADHP strange even the way "as the rate was born: it seems that it was the hotels who have asked for the rate. If tax is by the will of the chamber, not of the hotels," said the president of the association. Ribeiro Ferreira asserts, however, that the sector is available to discuss and think about the rate.
According to the local authority, the application of the rate you want to balance the accounts before the decrease in the revenues from the Casino of Estoril, felt in the last ten years, without diminishing the budget allocated to the promotion of tourism, explained the vice-president of the local authority. "They came to be 21 million euros [for gaming revenue]. Today there are 8 million and were informed by the Tourism of Portugal that in the next year will still be lower, about 6 million euros," he said.
"If this continued to go down, it would not be possible to continue to cover the promotion of tourism", hence the need to find another source of revenue, argued Pinto Light. The mayor of the social democratic party points out that they have already started negotiations with the associations of the hospitality sector to reach agreement.
Miguel Pinto Luz also said that it is open to the possibility of creating a commission within the ATC to assess the investment rate and the results of the application of the same, before this be approved by the house.
According to the accounts of the municipality, if the fee were to be applied, will allow to raise between 1.1 and 1.3 million euros to the coffers city – accounts made from the numbers of 2015, in which it was registered a record number of overnight stays in Cascais, about 1.3 million. To be approved, the measure enters into force from January 2017.
"we have Seen in the past year that we have a tourism solidified that allows the application of the rate," said the mayor, refusing the possibility of tourists come to redeem the village by the neighbouring municipalities of Oeiras and Sintra, a fear highlighted by some hoteliers.
once More, the position of the local authority is countered by the ADHP who doubts that "the tour of Cascais to be sustained and mature to keep up with the rate". Ribeiro Ferreira believes that the volume of tourism in the municipality "nothing can be compared" to that of the capital.
On the destination to give to the revenue derived from charging the fee, the local authority says-if available to create a committee of management of the money, "merely consultative", with representatives of the sectors hotel, restaurant and other tourism relevant. The commission annually to set where should be applied the revenues from the tourist tax and that the ADHP considers "essential".
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