Mexico cruise ship tax proposed
A new US$5 tax is being proposed for all cruise ship passengers visiting Mexico’s Quintana Roo. If approved, the new tax would come into force on the first day of January 2025. Mexico cruise ship tax
The Riviera Maya News reports that during the state’s recent 2024 Fiscal Package meeting, the Congress of Quintana Roo proposed the creation of a new cruise ship tourist fee at a rate of US$5 per person. The Mexican state is home to two of the country’s most popular cruise ports, Cozumel and Costa Maya.
The additional tax would be paid at the time of cruise ship trip purchase and collected by cruise lines, which would then forward the payments to the state.
“The state seeks to obtain greater resources to allocate them to investment projects to improve the infrastructure of our state, and to do so, it requires implementing new sources of income that will allow financing the expenses that come with the increase in visitors to the area,” the proposal states.
According to Article 51 of the Law of Rights of the State of Quintana Roo, of the money that enters the state coffers, 30% goes to the Trust for the Attention of Natural Disasters.
Quintana Roo’s Cruise Tax: Mixed Reactions and Future Impact Mexico cruise ship tax
Quintana Roo is one of Mexico’s states with the highest risk of hurricane impact during the Atlantic season, which runs from June to November each year. The other 70% would be allocated to a new Trust for Tourism Infrastructure.
The number of cruise ship arrivals in the state decreased between January 1 and October 8, 2023, (1,576 in 2022 to 1,164 so far in 2023), but the number of passengers increased from 4.1 million to almost 4.3 million.
The proposed tax has been met with mixed reactions from the cruise industry and tourism stakeholders. Some are supportive of the tax, saying that it is a fair way to contribute to the cost of tourism infrastructure and disaster relief. Others have expressed concerns that the tax could discourage cruise tourism and hurt the local economy.
It remains to be seen how the proposed tax will impact cruise tourism in Quintana Roo. However, the state government is confident that the tax will be a success and will help to support the tourism industry for years to come.
