Traveling to Europe: Be mindful of tourism fees

Traveling to Europe: Be mindful of tourism fees

Muscat: The European Union (EU) recently announced its decision to grant a five-year valid multiple-entry Schengen visa to citizens of the Sultanate of Oman and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states.The decision allows Omani citizens to visit the EU multiple times over five years with the same visa. During the visa validity period, holders of the visa enjoy travel rights equivalent to visa-free nationals.However, according to reports curated by ForwardKeys, many countries have raised their fees for tourists this year, which implies that tourists will be charged for overnight stays in some places for overnight stays as per the type of their hotel rooms.Visitors to Paris will pay up to €14.95 a night and a 5 percent charge on room fees in Berlin.Venice has introduced a trial for visitors to pay a €5 entry fee to the city during daytime hours, including additional costs for anyone staying in the city overnight.ForwardKeys cited Quotezone.co.uk report which said that the new and increasing tourist fees across Europe will allow cities to fund measures to attract more holidaymakers, support the local infrastructure and businesses, and prevent damage from over-tourism.Tourism taxes range anywhere between less than EUR1 and almost EUR15 and can be charged