
Image source, Getty Images
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- Author, Mizuki Uchiyama
- Author's title, BBC Travel
Your next vacation could be a bit more expensive than you expect, and not just for inflation. Worldwide, a growing number of destinations is implementing new climate -centered rates for stays in hotels, ferry tickets and entries to national parks and other protected areas.
But although paying more for a trip can be frustrating, these new rates could help ensure that some of your favorite destinations survive in a world with uploads of the seas level, record heat and natural disasters.
In August 2023, forest fires razed Lahaina, Hawaii's most historical city, in the heart of Maui.
Provoked by drought and fueled by hurricane winds, the fires were charged the lives of 102 people and destroyed more than 2,000 buildings, making them one of the forest fires related to the most mortal climate in the history of the United States.
This May, Hawaii took an unprecedented step by enacting the first US tourist tax explicitly linked to climate change.
Known as the Green Fee (“Green Rate”), the law adds an additional 0.75% to existing accommodation taxes. This rate is expected to collect US $ 100 million annually for recovery after forest fires, reef restoration and adaptation to climate change from 2026.
In a press release, the governor of Hawaii, Josh Green, said that the new law addresses the growing impact of the presence of 10 million tourists on the islands and reflects a broader strategy to respond to the growing frequency of natural disasters.
“This is not just a surcharge,” Susan Fazekas told BBC, Maui's headquarters and owner of Awapuhi Adventures.
“Visitors come here for natural beauty; waterfalls, reefs and paths in the tropical jungle. But those same resources are under pressure.
“Ask them to contribute to the care of these places is not a burden; it is an opportunity to be part of their preservation. It is also a way to honor right (shared responsibility) that we all have to protect Hawaii's future. “
As disasters intensifying climate, other destinations around the world are also rethinking how tourist income is collected and where it is directed.
Image source, Getty Images
Small additional positions
In January 2024, Greece replaced his tax for night stay with a resilience rate before the climatic crisis.
Now, travelers pay between US $ 0.58 and US $ 11.60 per night, depending on the category of the hotel and the season, with surcharges of up to US $ 24 per person in popular islands such as Mykonos and Santorini during the periods of greater influx.
The Government expects to raise 400 million euros a year (US $ 460 million), which will be used for water infrastructure, disaster prevention and ecosystems restoration.
In other places, Bali introduced a rate of 150,000 rupees in 2024 (US $ 9.18) for international travelers, aimed at environmental protection.
The Maldives carry a nocturnal “green tax” since 2015, but they doubled in January 2025, and most hotels and resorts now charge US $ 12 per person, per night.
The income is channeled to a fund administered by the Government for waste management and coastal resilience.
In New Zealand, the International Visitor Levy – introduced for the first time in 2019, which has almost tripled until reaching about 100 New Zealand dollars (US $ 58) in 2024 – supports conservation efforts and sustainable tourist infrastructure throughout the country.
Compared to the total cost of a trip, these rates are usually modest. But if they are properly managed, its impact can be transformative.
According to Rachel Dodds, doctor and professor of tourism management at the Metropolitan University of Toronto, in Canada, which finally gives meaning to these rates is the clarity with which residents and visitors are communicated.
“Tourist taxes can be an easy source of additional income to support sustainability or climatic initiatives,” he says. “But transparency is essential to ensure that money is really destined for those initiatives.”
Image source, Getty Images
Detailed information for travelers
In some destinations, that clarity already exists.
The Maldives publish monthly reports of the Green Fund in which they detail exactly how the income of coastal protection tax, waste treatment and water access are assigned.
The New Zealand tourist tax is accompanied by annual performance reports that show what projects are selected, financed and completed, such as the rehabilitation of the paths damaged by storms in Cathedral Cove and large investments on the country's cycling routes, including improvements, maintenance and adaptations to make them more resistant to climate.
Hawaii is also working to improve transparency on how their new tourist taxes will be used.
After the fires in Lahaina, the State established a climate advisory team (Climate Advisory Team, CAT), which published a 60 -page report describing possible resilience actions and sources of financing, with the aim of guaranteeing transparency and generating public confidence.
“The exhaustive data we managed to present – including surveys to residents of the entire State, analysis of the potential impacts of climatic events and extensive work with experts in climate resilience – resulted in a favorable public opinion towards a climatic rate,” says Chris Benjamin, president of the CAT.
Surveys suggest that visitors are willing to contribute if they know that their money will be well used.
According to the 2024 sustainable travel report from Booking.com, 75 % of worldwide travelers said they wanted to travel more sustainably in the next year, and 71 % said they expected to leave the places that visit in better conditions as they found them.
An independent Euromonitor study in 2023 revealed that almost 80 % of visitors were willing to pay at least 10 % more for sustainable travel options.
Maho Tanaka, a Japanese advertising professional based in Tokyo who hopes to visit Hawaii in next year, says he supports the new climate rate of the state.
“It depends on how much it is,” he says. “If it were too expensive, especially with the weak, I could discourage me. But it is only 0.75 %, as an additional US $ 3 in a US $ 400 stay, then it seems good to me.”
Although Tanaka does not actively follow how these rates are used, he says that his general purpose does matter.
“If you are destined to protect Hawaii's beaches and forests, then it seems positive to me … it feels like a contribution to something important. Hawaii is like a large national park. It makes sense to support it.”
Image source, Getty Images
A new tourism concept
Zixuan Liu, a Chinese citizen, recently spent three weeks traveling through Greece after the country implemented its new resilience rate in the face of the climatic crisis, and their experience coincides with what the polls reveal.
“I noticed the position and it seemed a bit expensive, but I was not sure how it was being used. If that would be explained more clearly, I would actually be happy to pay more, as long as the money is destined for the right place,” he says.
Even so, experts warn that sustainability should not be treated as a complement.
“We need to integrate sustainability in our operations, services and offers, so that travelers choose it by default,” says Christopher Imbsen, vice president of research and sustainability of the World Travel and Tourism Council (World Travel & Tourism Council).
“It should not be a luxury or an additional layer of complexity. If sustainability is incorporated from the beginning, people will not have to choose it consciously: it will simply be the obvious option.”
In the background, the rise of tourist taxes linked to climate is not only financing, but to rewrite the social contract of tourism.
For decades, tourism has worked largely as an extractivist economy; Visitors arrive, consume and leave. But in a world affected by climate change, that model is no longer sustainable.
These modest rates reflect somewhat deeper: a transition from tourism as consumption to tourism as collaboration. We go to a future that invites travelers to go beyond simply visiting and encourages them to assume a shared responsibility in preservation.
Image source, Getty Images
Fazekas says that responsible tourism in Hawaii means “reduce speed.”
Less crowds, more significant experiences and deeper respect for local culture and the environment.
For her, it is also about educating visitors, reducing the impact and creating opportunities to give back, “not just take a photo and leave.”
So yes, your next trip can be a bit more expensive. But those additional US $ 10 or € 20 could help preserve these destinations for future generations.
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