Tromsø Tourist Tax 2027: What It Means for Whale Trips

Booking choice: The high-speed catamaran safari, from $197 per person. Check dates Tour details

The Norwegian visitor contribution, besøksbidrag, is a levy on overnight accommodation. The law took effect on 1 July 2026, and Tromsø was the first municipality to adopt a plan to use it.

Below is only what official sources and named reports confirm as of 8 October 2026: the rate, the timeline, the approval status and the effect on a whale watching holiday.

The quick answer

Tromsø plans a 3% levy on the price of a night's accommodation before VAT, from 1 January 2027. It needs approval from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries first, and we found no published approval as of 8 October 2026. Whale tours are not accommodation, so they are not covered. A NOK 2,000 room would cost NOK 60 more a night.

What is Norway's visitor contribution (besøksbidrag)?

A national law, in force since 1 July 2026, that lets municipalities under heavy tourist pressure charge 3% of the overnight price, excluding VAT.

The government's announcement of 1 July 2026 states: "Satsen er 3 prosent av overnattingsprisen eksklusive merverdiavgift" (the rate is 3% of the accommodation price excluding VAT). It adds that the first municipalities can collect from 1 January 2027, and that the levy is voluntary for each council.

The government's guide to the scheme says only municipalities with "særlig stor belastning fra reiselivet" (especially heavy pressure from tourism) can use it. The money is not free budget cash: it must go to shared goods visitors use, such as trails, public toilets, waste handling and information.

Has Tromsø's tourist tax been approved?

Not as far as any official source shows. Tromsø sent its plan to the ministry on 1 July 2026, and no approval had been published as of 8 October 2026.

Tromsø kommune says the plan "danner grunnlaget for innføring av en overnattingsavgift fra 1. januar 2027" (is the basis for an accommodation levy from 1 January 2027), and that it must be approved by the ministry before the levy can take effect. Visit Norway lists five municipalities with plans sent for review: Tromsø, Lyngen, Karlsøy, Vågan and Stranda. It lists none as approved.

On 30 August 2026 Dinside reported that tourism minister Cecilie Myrseth expects the applicants to get positive answers. Expected is not approved. The government's guide adds that the ministry's decision cannot be appealed, and a local regulation must follow before anyone pays.

Date	Step	Status
20 June 2025	Visitor contribution law adopted	Done
24 June 2026	Tromsø council adopts its plan	Done
1 July 2026	Law in force; Tromsø sends plan to the ministry	Done
Pending	Ministry approval, then a local regulation	Not published as of 8 Oct 2026
1 January 2027	Planned first day of collection	Depends on approval

Does the tourist tax apply to whale watching tours?

No. The levy covers paid overnight stays only. A whale safari, an aurora chase or a meal is not accommodation.

The government guide defines the base as renting out a room, flat, cabin or house for stays under 30 days, at hotels, hostels and similar, including short-term rentals booked through platforms. Your own campervan, motorhome or tent is outside it. Activities are not mentioned anywhere in the scheme, and Life in Norway reports Tromsø's plan as "3 percent on accommodation. Both hotels and short-term rentals."

In practice: the catamaran whale safari keeps its price, and so does every day trip on this site. Two edge cases. Skjervøy is not on Visit Norway's list of applicants, so a night there before a RIB trip is not covered by any plan we have seen. And no source we found says how a one-night cabin on the overnight whale cruise is treated. Ask Destination Tromsø before you assume either way.

A white and blue high-speed catamaran crossing a dark fjord below a snow-covered mountain — Day trips like this catamaran safari are not accommodation, so the levy does not apply.

The most booked whale trip in Tromsø. The 2027 levy does not change its price.

Check dates

How much will the tourist tax add to a stay in Tromsø?

About NOK 60 a night on a room that costs NOK 2,000 before VAT, and NOK 90 on a NOK 3,000 night.

Room rental carries 12% VAT in Norway (Skatteetaten), and the levy is worked out on the price without it. A room shown at NOK 2,240 including VAT is NOK 2,000 before VAT, and 3% of that is NOK 60. Dinside used the same maths for a NOK 3,000 hotel night: about NOK 90 more, and put a week's holiday at up to about NOK 1,000.

It is charged on the room, not per guest, so two people sharing pay the same as one. Next to a whale trip at NOK 2,000 or more per person, it is small change.

Example stay	Room price before VAT	3% levy
1 night, mid-range hotel	NOK 2,000	NOK 60
4 nights, same hotel	NOK 8,000	NOK 240
1 night, central hotel at peak	NOK 3,000	NOK 90
5 nights, apartment at NOK 1,500	NOK 7,500	NOK 225
Whale safari, one adult	Not accommodation	NOK 0

Will cruise passengers pay a fee on a whale watching day?

Not yet. A separate fee of NOK 100 per passenger per day in port has been proposed but not adopted.

The government guide describes the cruise fee as a proposal: NOK 100 per passenger for each started 24 hours in port, with the consultation closed on 22 June 2026 and a target start in 2027. Dinside notes that cruise passengers escape the accommodation levy "foreløpig" (for now). If you arrive by cruise ship and book a whale trip ashore, the tour price itself is unaffected either way.

Why Tromsø wants the money: the city logged more than 1.3 million commercial overnight stays in 2025, Life in Norway reports, and Dinside puts the expected income at a little over NOK 50 million a year. For the cost of the tours themselves, see our whale watching price guide.