Introducing a €2 tourist tax on Galway hotels would “benefit” the city, a local councillor has said. 

Tourist taxes are increasingly common in hotspots across the world, with local governments keen to raise revenue to help pay for the cost of the visitors. 

Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast, Fianna Fáil Councillor Michael J Crowe explained why he favoured the introduction of one in Galway City. 

“The charge would be introduced on each bedroom that would be occupied for the night,” he said. 

“It’s important to distinguish that it’s not on the number of occupants within the room but on the room itself. 

“So, we asked the Finance Department of Galway City Council to do some numbers around this for us and they presented us with a report in, I think it was, the autumn of 2023. 

“It did show some interesting figures and benefits the city would get and receive from such a tax.” 

Salthill promenade on the beach in Galway city on a sunny spring afternoon.

Officials in Galway estimated €2 tax on each room would raise roughly €1.7 million in revenue for the city annually. 

Cllr Crowe said if one were introduced, it would bring Galway in line with a number of other cities. 

“This is not an uncommon feature in society these days - it’s widespread across Europe,” he said. 

“It was introduced in Manchester for the first time, I think it was about 12 months ago. 

“In the summer of the last year, the Scottish Parliament introduced legislation to allow their local authorities to charge a bedroom tax.” 

An aerial view of Galway.

Cllr Crowe said there are a number of ways the money could be spent by officials; he noted the budget for street cleaning is €2.2 million but said that is “still not enough”. 

“There’s a number of counter-projects therein,” he said. 

“For example, the Galway City Museum [is] being redeveloped, Leisure Land… [is] to be redeveloped and a number of other projects, such as that.” 

'Not looking to change the world'

Cllr Crowe said when he first raised the idea last year local hoteliers were “not happy” but he believes the sum would not dissuade people from visiting. 

“We’re not looking to change the world here or do something that’s not anywhere else,” he said. 

“I operate in the tourist business myself, people are well used to this. 

“As I said, it’s a very small fee in the overall cost of a stay and it’s a nominal fee and I think it would be of benefit to the city to introduce.” 

Prior to the pandemic, tourism was worth €9.5 billion to the Irish economy.

Main image: Pedestrians in Galway City.