The government of the Spanish Balearic islands, which includes the popular vacation destinations Ibiza, Majorca and Menorca have passed a new "Sustainable Tourism Tax" to try and protect the island's resources in the face of natural resource interests and the need to raise government funds.
Malta will add its own "eco-tax" on visitors this summer as well of 0.50 euros a night at hotels starting at the beginning of June.
The tax at the Balearic Islands will go into effect on July 1 and will affect everyone over the age of 16. People on holiday will pay a tax per night that they stay on the island and it will be a progressive scale with the level of accommodation - taking the assumption that those who are paying for a nicer hotel can afford slightly more tax.
It will start at 50 cents per person per night for campers or staying in a hostel, increasing up to €2 for a night in a luxury hotel. The tax will be halved after staying eight nights according to The Independent.
As there are with any laws, a few exceptions have been made for those who won't be taxed. Those who are there for health reasons, for religious purposes or are as a refugee will be exempt from the new law.
The law is expected to raise about €80 million annually, which will go to "sustainable tourism initiatives and the conservation of natural spaces," according to Diario De Ibiza.
This is not the first time Ibiza has imposed a tax on its visitors. It tried once before in 2002, which was repealed the next year.
This time around there is more urgency to protect its natural resources with big oil companies coming close to drilling off of the coast of Ibiza last year, only to be thwarted by protesters.
Ibiza is the ancestral home for clubbing and electronic music. Everyone from Martin Garrix to Jamie Jones to Carl Cox and Above & Beyond make the journey to Ibiza each summer for residencies. Millions of revelers still make the pilgrimage to the White Isle and the surrounding Balearic Islands for their dose of debauchery and music.
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