Denmark’s Most Avoided Tourism (Tax) Question

Tourism taxes are often framed as a threat to growth. But across Europe, they have become an effective tool for destinations to fund culture, nature, and local well-being. A report by Group NAO asks how Denmark can face tourism taxes head-on and make them a driver of better experiences for both visitors and locals.

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The debate Denmark can't get its head around

Few topics in tourism provoke as much discomfort as taxation. Arguments quickly polarise: "Taxes will either scare visitors away, or they will solve everything.” Little space is left for nuance.

Skat, Skat Ikke (To Tax, or Not to Tax), a report by Group NAO, sets out to shift the debate. Instead of asking whether tourism taxes are “good” or “bad,” the report asks a more useful question:

How can tourism taxes be designed to create value rather than a threat?

As destinations face tightening budgets and rising pressures on infrastructure, housing, environmental protection, and local well-being, that question matters now more than ever before.

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What other destinations already know

Across Europe and beyond, tourism taxes are now an established tool. More than 30 European countries have already implemented some form of visitor levy. Cities such as Barcelona, Amsterdam, Milan, Hamburg, Edinburgh, and Austin have moved past abstract debate and into practical application.

The report examines how these destinations structure their taxes and, crucially, what they do with the revenue. In many cases, funds are reinvested directly into local priorities, such as cultural institutions, environmental protection, and local communities.

The evidence challenges one of the most persistent fears in both the Danish and the international tourism tax debate. When well designed, tourism taxes do not automatically reduce demand. Barcelona and Amsterdam continue to attract visitors at scale, despite long-standing levies. What changes is not whether people come, but how destinations manage the impact.

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What Denmark is leaving on the table

To ground the discussion, Skat, Skat Ikke includes a simplified economic calculation, showing that, based on current tourism volumes, tourism taxes in Denmark could generate up to 1.45 billion DKK annually. That is 58 times higher than the funding earmarked for tourism in Denmark’s 2024 National Tourism Strategy.

That revenue could be transformative. The report outlines a range of potential reinvestment pathways, from upgrading infrastructure and improving accessibility to funding cultural heritage, protecting natural landscapes, or enabling Denmark to compete for major international events.

“Tourism taxes in Denmark could generate up to 1.45 billion DKK annually.”

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From taboo to tool

Skat, Skat Ikke offers a fresh perspective on a possible future of Danish tourism and how tourism taxes, both in Denmark and abroad, can create better experiences for visitors, drive local well-being, and support the sustainability of destinations.

The evidence is already there. What remains undecided is how destinations within and beyond Denmark choose to approach tourism taxes now – as a taboo or a tool?

Challenge your perspective and download the full report to explore international case studies, design principles, and the potential pathways for (not only) Danish tourism tax, which is a tool for regeneration, not a punishment for tourism.

Download here and note: the report is currently available only in Danish.

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