The fee would apply to each port call where the ship stays for over one hour. The proposal is currently out for consultation. The fee would be voluntary for municipalities to implement, applying to municipalities with particularly high burden from cruise tourism.
The revenue from the fee would go towards covering expenses related to tourism. The proposal would also affect scheduled coastal traffic from Hurtigruten and Havila Kystruten. Hurtigruten and Havila Kystruten sail a fixed route under contract with the state, visiting 34 ports.
A typical cruise ship visits 4 to 6 ports. The Ministry is considering whether only stops over one hour should trigger the fee. Less than half of the stops on the coastal route are over one hour.
According to Havila Kystruten, the proposal could lead to extra costs of 55 million kroner for them. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries says passengers using the coastal route as public transport, who have bought a ticket for a specific route, would not pay the fee. This group constitutes about 60 percent of passengers on the coastal route.
The remaining passengers are considered 'experience travelers' and would have to pay. How the distinction between 'public transport passengers' and 'experience travelers' will be practically enforced on coastal routes is unclear. The government's goal is to avoid unfairness to other shipping companies.
The Ministry states that exceptions for certain types of cruise operations would be competition-distorting. The proposal has received mixed responses from mayors along the coast. The port in Honningsvåg, Nordkapp municipality, has had up to 170 cruise calls per year.
Nordkapp municipality hosts several hundred thousand guests annually. The government has decided that the Visitor Contribution Act will enter into force on July 1 this year. The regulation for the cruise fee is planned to enter into force from January 1, 2027.
3 million day cruise tourists from cruise ships. What the total estimated revenue the fee could generate for municipalities if widely implemented, and how many municipalities are expected to adopt it, are unknown.