How much tax do you pay?

Holidaymakers flying out from Spanish Airports must now pay an increase in their Spanish airport departure tax of £6, as a result of the Spanish 2012 budget passing into law on June 2012.

In light of this, Airport Parking and Hotels has investigated into the taxes and fees facing passengers when flying abroad. The research is available in the Know Before You Go section of the website, at

The research compares the price of visas and airport tax in 21 holiday destinations popular with British tourists, including Australia, Hong Kong, India, Mauritius and the USA.

Of the 21 countries surveyed, 10 were found to require visas for entry into the country with China proving to be the most expensive. China charges £30.00 for a single entry visa as well as a service charge which ranges from £36.00 to £54.00 subject to service required (Regular, Express, Postal) whereas Dubai and Mauritius offer visas free of charge.

In terms of Airport Taxes, most are included in the price of the international airfare; however Mauritius charges passengers £10.00 at the airport as they fly out of the country. Some Canadian airports also charge passengers as they leave the country, whilst others include it in the flight cost.

Spain charges a total tax of £14.40, however passengers who booked their flight prior to June 2012 should be vigilant about checking if they need to pay this or not. Some airlines are covering the cost for tickets booked prior to this time whist others are passing them on to passengers, stating that they must pay the increased charge of £6.00 or cancel their flight.

There are many different titles used to describe the airport taxes of the countries surveyed from Passenger Service Charge to Transportation Tax, though they are all a form of Airport or Departure Tax. Combined, Australia’s Passenger Movement Charge and Airport Passenger Service Charge are the most expensive tourist taxes of all the countries surveyed at a total of £56.40. Kenya’s is also high at £25.63 whereas Canada (£3.16), India (£4.00) and Morocco (£2.20) offer the lowest charges.

See www.aph.com/touristtax for more