A night on a European cruise is taxed 40% less than a hotel despite their high environmental costs and contribution to overtourism. T&E calls for tax reforms to ensure that cruise ships pay their fair share
A night on a cruise ship is taxed almost half as much as a night in a hotel, a new T&E study shows. That is despite their high environmental and climate costs, and the strain they put on local infrastructure [1]. T&E calls for adjustments to tax rules to help cities to deal with the external costs of cruising.
The analysis looked at the taxes for €100 a night hotels in France, Italy and Spain, and compared them to cruises with similar prices. On average, people who stay at hotels will pay 23% of the price in taxes, while cruise passengers will only pay 12%.
Cruises are legally classified as a form of maritime transport, while in practice they function as holiday accommodation. This loophole allows them to avoid paying VAT and fuel taxes, among other things. Fanny Pointet, Shipping Manager at T&E, said : “We are treating floating hotels like they are essential maritime infrastructure. Cruises are not a mode of transportation but the destination itself, yet we are giving them the same benefits as freight transport. Taxing cruise ships properly would help cities to tackle the pollution and to address concerns of overtourism.”
The study shows that a large share of negative externalities - coming from greenhouse gases and air pollutants emissions - generated by cruise ships are not covered by existing policies. In France, Spain and Italy, those external costs ranged between €790 million and €1.3 billion in 2025 [2]. On average, the climate-related external costs of this sector exceed ETS revenues by a factor close to two to three. For costs related to air pollution, there is no such tax existing at the EU level. (....)