What should you be aware of when booking a holiday? Tourism tax and airport delays explained in video

With summer fast-approaching, many people will be looking to book their ideal break for 2024.

If you haven’t booked a holiday yet, here’s a few things to consider before finalising your stay.

Tourism tax

City tax has been around for a long time in countries such as Greece, Spain and Germany and more. It is usually introduced by governments to prevent over-tourism and to generate income from a high number of tourists visiting the destination.

With the severe impact of Coronavirus on the tourism industry, more countries have decided to introduce a tourism tax for 2024. These countries include popular locations Venice and Bali. Gran Canaria is also reportedly considering bringing in entry fees for beauty hotspots like Maspalomas Dunes, Bandama Caldera and Roque Nublo in an effort to protect these natural areas.

Airport delays

Most recently, we have seen delays in a number of UK airports as a result of an issue with passport e-gates. Technical errors at these automated gates can lead to long queues at arrivals. Passport e-gates were also impacted by an IT issue in May 2023.

A big reason for flight delays is adverse weather conditions and this may continue to increase in prevalence with climate change. Flight delays are more common in winter as fog, snow, ice and crosswinds mean air traffic controllers need to allow more time for planes to land, which has an overall impact on flight times.