Amsterdam Tourist Tax Hits 16% — Nightlife Picks Up Bill

Amsterdam will charge visitors 16% tourist tax on overnight stays from 2027, up from 12.5%, after the city council adopted the coalition's 2027 budget on Thursday. The vote also locks in a climb to 20%, and it lands the bill for overtourism on the hotels, clubs and festivals the city says it wants to keep.

The tax became one of the highest in the world in 2024, when it reached 12.5%. Mayor Femke Halsema's coalition of the left-wing PRO and centrist D66 wrote the one-point annual rise into its June agreement, next to pledges to keep overnight stays under 20 million and to close the cruise terminal east of Centraal station. Amsterdam counted a record 21 million visitors last year, and the council now argues the levy is the lever that both slows arrivals and pays for the mess they leave.

A 3.5-point rise, then four more

The 2027 rate of 16% is the biggest single jump since the tax was overhauled. From there the coalition wants one extra percentage point a year until the rate hits 20%, which in practice means 2028, 2029, 2030 and 2031 each arrive with a higher bill for anyone booking a bed in the city. City projections put revenue at about €60 million in 2027 and €75 million by 2030, money officials say will cover management, maintenance, enforcement and investment.

Alderman Melanie van der Horst defended the increase on the council floor by pointing at basic services. The revenue is needed to tackle problems such as waste collection, she argued, and research commissioned by the city suggests the tax will cut visitor numbers without cutting the budget.

Forty-seven names, one open letter

Hospitality and cultural organisations have spent months arguing that the tax will not reduce demand, only relocate it. An open letter signed by 47 industry figures, among them hospitality entrepreneur Won Yip and outgoing Corendon chief executive Gunay Uslu, warned that pushing prices up would send visitors to sleep in neighbouring towns while they still spend their days in the centre.

"If higher prices lead visitors to stay overnight outside Amsterdam instead, that does not mean those visitors stop coming to Amsterdam. They will still visit the city center during the day but would ultimately spend less money there."

That distinction matters for a city whose queer scene runs on small venues, late licences and a calendar of events that depends on people staying the night. Fewer beds sold inside the ring, the argument goes, means thinner margins for the rooms, bars and clubs that make the centre worth visiting in the first place.

The cultural budget is the first casualty

Festivals say the arithmetic is already visible. Around 90% of the creators and artists invited to the annual Holland Festival come from abroad, which makes travel and accommodation a structural cost rather than a luxury. A spokesperson put the choice bluntly: the rise in VAT and tourist taxes hits the festival's artistic budget directly, so the options are a smaller programme or higher ticket prices.

"The rise in VAT and tourist taxes directly impacts the festival's artistic budget, so the options are decreasing the program or increasing the prices."

The council has not been swayed. Halsema has argued that overtourism is the more urgent problem, and the coalition's majority held on Thursday despite the lobbying. The city's own research is the political cover: if the tax trims arrivals but holds revenue steady, the experiment looks like it is working.

• 1 January 2027: the rate rises from 12.5% to 16% on every overnight stay.
• 2028 to 2031: one percentage point a year, taking the rate to 20%.
• Revenue: roughly €60 million in 2027, rising to about €75 million by 2030.
• Still on the table: a levy on day trippers and the closure of the cruise terminal.

What happens next

The new rate applies to bookings from 1 January 2027, so hotels will start repricing winter and spring inventory within weeks. The council's budget also commits the city to the annual one-point increases through 2031, which means the 2028 rate of 17% is already written into the plan rather than left to a future vote.

Hospitality lobby KHN has campaigned for a national cap on tourist tax, and the industry will keep pushing for one as the rate climbs. The cruise terminal closure and a possible day-tripper charge remain separate files, both slower and both contested.

For queer Amsterdam, the practical question is what survives the squeeze: the late-night venues, the small stages and the festival slots that rely on international artists and audiences. Vibra is building a free profile that keeps that calendar in one place — parties, club nights and Pride events across the city, with tickets and Pulse points for the people who show up.

Sources: NL Times, "Amsterdam approves sharp tourist tax increase despite objections from businesses", 12 November 2026; DutchNews.nl, "Amsterdam to hike tourist tax to 20%, close sea cruise terminal", 3 June 2026; NH Nieuws, "Verhoging toeristenbelasting in Amsterdam vanaf 2027 staat vast", 12 November 2026.