Dubrovnik introducing foreign cruise ships tax from 1 Jan, 2021

Dubrovnik

27 September 2019 – Dubrovnik will introduce a charge on foreign cruise ships commencing at the start of 2021, the City of Dubrovnik has confirmed.  

The tourist tax will range from between HRK 2,000 and HRK 40,000 per vessel, depending on the passenger capacity. The decision to introduce a fee for cruisers was made by the Dubrovnik City Council during its session on 23 September.

The tax for cruise ships will be enforced when the ship is moored at a port or anchorage in the Dubrovnik area, daily Slobodna Dalmacija writes.  

“Pursuant to the current Law on Tourist Fees of the Republic of Croatia, the decision will come into force on January 1, 2021, and the funds that the City of Dubrovnik will receive from that fee will be spent on the purpose of improving the municipal utility infrastructure,” City of Dubrovnik said.

According to the decision of the Dubrovnik City Council, the minimum amount of tourist tax per boat will be HRK 2,000 for cruisers with a capacity of 50 to 200 passengers, while for those with a capacity of 201 to 500 passengers, the fee will be HRK 5,000. For cruisers from 501 to 1000 passengers the tourist tax will be HRK 10,000, and for those from 1001 to 2000 passengers, HRK 20,000.  

The largest tourist taxes of HRK 30,000 and HRK 40,000 will be paid by the largest cruisers, whose capacities are from 2001 to 3000 passengers, and from 3001 and more passengers respectively. 

Dubrovnik

This is the first time in Croatia this type of tourist tax will be introduced and has the support of the International Cruise Company Association-CLIA, with which it has been intensively and successfully cooperating for the last two years. 

Dubrovnik has been looking at ways to deal with overcrowding problems and has been under pressure to introduce measures to deal with it, including from UNESCO.