“The tourist tax levied on a number of municipalities, which I expect to grow, is undoubtedly a milestone that can be used to reduce the gap between residents and tourists,” said Bernardo Trindade, who was speaking at the inauguration of the AHP's governing bodies for the three-year period 2025-2027, in Lisbon.
The municipal tourist tax is a contribution paid by guests staying in a unit in a given municipality.
For the former state secretary of Tourism, investments in municipalities must have a seal that identifies that it was financed by the tourist tax.
Bernardo Trindade also said that, despite political instability, the tourism sector has demonstrated its resilience by presenting good results.
However, he pointed out that there is still a lot of “prejudice, misinformation and vile attacks” on the sector, calling for a closer relationship with people to change this situation.
A “seal”… what a joke! Full written disclosure of revenue streams linked to actual projects with costs disclosed as well as cost benefit and value to local communities and fully quantified should be expected. Only open bid projects, with no funding for “preferred” contractors or businesses linked to local government with their overinflated charges and shoddy, half finished jobs, verified by independent oversight.
By Stuart Wood from Algarve on 17 Aug 2025, 10:18