In a statement, the city council announced that, similar to what is already done in neighboring municipalities, Oeiras will start charging a tourist tax under the Regulation of Administrative Permissions, Fees, and Other Revenues (RPATOR) of the municipality, approved by the municipal assembly and published in the Official Gazette.
The tax will be charged per person, per night, for up to seven consecutive nights per stay, and applies to individuals aged 13 and older. The collection management will be done through a computer platform.
According to the municipality, there are 11 tourist developments and 560 local accommodations in Oeiras, in the Lisbon district. The tax will be applied to paid overnight stays in hotel establishments and local accommodation establishments in the municipality.
The council stated that the tax aims to “ensure compensation for the enjoyment of a set of activities and investments promoted by the municipality of Oeiras, related to tourism activity,” including safeguarding traditional commerce, creating centers for cultural and recreational revitalization, managing public spaces, providing municipal information services and support for tourists, surveillance, security, and civil protection in the municipality.
With this measure, the municipality expects to collect around 200,000 euros per year.
According to data from the most recent population and housing census (Census 2021), cited in the RPATOR, tourist overnight stays in the municipality were 347,954 (2018), 359,943 (2019), 107,115 (2020), and 153,783 (2021), with the latter year still affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The average stay is estimated at 2.1 nights.
