Hawaii, Greece, Spain, Japan, and Maldives Lead the Way in Green Fee Tax Initiatives to Tackle Overtourism in 2026: Everything You Need to Know

Due to overtourism’s threat to popular travel locations, many countries will start charging “green fees” or “eco-taxes” after the year 2025. The goal of these taxes is to offset the costs of the negative impacts brought by tourists while the funds are used to protect the locations and fund preservation efforts. The overcrowding and other negative impacts will help tackle travel’s negative impacts and will help us travel responsibly. Many countries, including Hawaii, Greece, Spain, Japan, and the Maldives, are the first to implement these ‘green taxes’ to help support eco-friendly initiatives and improve visitor infrastructure to support sustainable tourism.

Hawaii’s Green Fee Tax for Sustainable Tourism

Hawaii is struggling with the negative impacts of unsustainable travel to the islands. Hawaii will also charge travelers a green fee starting in 2026, consisting of a 0.75% tax on specified short-term accommodations as well as a $5 fee for all cruise ship passengers. With these two fees, Hawaii hopes to collect $100 million per year and use the money collected to support climate change protection, environmental sustainability, sustainable tourism, protecting the reefs, and stopping the loss of sand.

Greece and its Flexible Tourist Fee System

The green tax system in Greece has been in place since the beginning of 2025 and mainly focuses on the islands of Mykonos and Santorini, which are highly populated and have extreme environmental damage. Cruise passengers are charged differently depending on the season. In high season (June–Sept), Santorini has a fee of €20, but in off-peak months, the fee is less than €3. This fee structure provides incentives to travel in the less tourist-populated months of the year. With the tax money, Greece plans to invest in biodiversity and reduce damage to the islands.

Spain’s Expanding Eco-Tax Strategy

Spain’s green tax has also been implemented in tourist hotspots such as Catalonia, Galicia, and the Balearic Islands. Valencia and the Canary Islands will follow in 2026. The tax targets hotel bookings and is structured in tiers depending on how fancy the hotel is. The most expensive tax is €15 per night in luxury hotels in Barcelona. The cheapest tax is on budget hotels, which could be €0.60 a night. The tax is meant to fund sustainability projects to improve infrastructure and the environment in the areas the tax is collected from.

Japan’s Focus on Kyoto’s Delicate Environment

Japan has seen a surge in tourism since the lockdowns, and Kyoto has come under a lot of pressure with respect to its cultural and natural heritage. From 2026, Kyoto will start implementing a tourist tax on visitors to the city. This tax will apply to visitors of certain high-priced hotel chains and will be accompanied by caps on hotel prices for tax-adjusted pricing. Expected taxes of >USD 65 will be a stark contrast to taxes seen in prior years. Furthermore, with respect to the costs associated with hotel chains, the city has begun preservation projects and solidified the right to defend cultural heritage sites, tourist/heritage custodianship, etc. This is another component of the government trying to find a balance between tourism and the well-being of the locals.

Eco Levy for Maldives Marine Ecosystems Protection

Since 2015, the Maldives, due to its extreme sensitivity to climate change and overtourism, has implemented green taxes. This year, these taxes have increased from 50 cents to $1 for selling better-priced and larger guesthouse and hotel rooms. Tourists paying for larger guesthouses and hotel rooms will pay $12 per night as an eco-levy, and smaller accommodations will collect $6 per night, which the Maldives will use for reef protection and to combat coral bleaching, which sustains the Maldives’ Marine Ecosystems. The green tax added for larger guesthouses and hotel rooms is directed to sustaining eco-levy destinations maintaining eco-levy tax destinations.

Conclusion: Significance of Green Fee Taxes in Sustainable Travel

Overtourism has become a growing problem in countries such as Hawaii, Greece, Spain, Japan, and the Maldives. In response, these countries have started to charge green fees to preserve the land and use the revenue from the fees to build and maintain sustainable infrastructures. Although green taxes may seem unreasonable, the wider use of these taxes signals a move towards a safer and more sustainable travel experience. The hope is that in the near future, more countries will begin to embrace the balance of sustainable tourism and travel.