The Port Authority of A Coruña has requested that the Xunta de Galicia introduce an adjustment in the 2026 accompanying law to the regional budgets, compared to the 2025 one, so that cruise ships that do not stay overnight in the city are exempt from paying the tourist tax.
The City Council began applying the tax to hotels and tourist accommodations in general, with an ordinance that includes its extension to cruise ships starting January 1, 2026. This decision is based on the fact that the regional Law 5/2024, accompanying the 2025 budgets, included cruise ships in the application of the levy, whether they stay overnight in the city or not.
For the president of the Port Authority, Martín Fernández Prado, it is logical that cruise passengers pay the tax only if they stay overnight in the city, just as happens with any other traveler who arrives in A Coruña by plane, bus, train, or private vehicle and leaves the city the same day, without staying overnight, and who for this reason does not pay a tourist tax. Furthermore, it must be taken into account that a percentage of cruise passengers do not even get off the ship.
The Port Authority had already submitted objections to the municipal ordinance, understanding that the application of the tourist tax could be very detrimental to the arrival of cruise ships in the city, with a very negative impact on economic activity and therefore on employment. Given that the ordinance is based on the regional law, it is considered that the proposed adjustment in the law corresponding to the 2026 budgets would also render ineffective, in the municipal ordinance, the tax for cruise ships that do not stay overnight in the port of A Coruña.
In the case of cruise ships, the tourist tax would not be paid by the passengers, but by the shipping company. Therefore, the municipal levy, with a rate of USD 1.8 per passenger per day, even if they do not stay overnight in the city, would jeopardize the port’s competitiveness compared to other destinations in the area, in addition to impacting the budget planning of shipping companies that are already marketing for the years 2026 and 2027, and for whom the introduction of this surcharge could lead them to seek other, more competitive ports of call.
The Port Authority applies a 40% discount on its fees, precisely to incentivize the arrival of cruise ships. If the planned tourist tax is implemented, this incentive, which has managed to attract shipping companies, becomes ineffective.
For all these reasons, Fernández Prado insisted on pointing out that they are only asking for equal treatment for visitors arriving by cruise ship compared to those who arrive by other means of transport and do not spend the night in A Coruña.
