CASE. Andorra: Will the Principality introduce a tax on foreign vehicles to combat overtourism?

Cheers to day shoppers and casual skiers who love the good deals in Pas de la Casa and the snowy slopes of Andorra. In the coming months, it may cost more to travel to Andorra. The principality is considering introducing a tax on foreign vehicles passing through the territory. Only day-trippers, spending at least one night on Andorran territory, would be exempt. The price of this subscription could vary “depending on the time of year, according to the high or low tourist season”, explains the Catalan press.

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The objective of such a measure: the fight against the tourist pressure that suffocates this country of only 85,000 inhabitants. In 2023, almost 9 million visitors crossed Andorra's borders, the equivalent of 30 tourists per inhabitant according to Le Routard: “It's like there are 120,000 of us every day in these mountains,” comments Andorran political scientist Yvan Lara. Every year, the number of visitors increases by 10%. According to local authorities, such flows are not without consequences for the Principality: “The country is not far from reaching its capacity limit. [d’accueil]which endangers its natural resources,” claims the government targeting, without mentioning the water resource, essential for the territory's ski resorts.

“Don't get into tourismophobia”

However, the Andorran government is looking for a way forward in the matter of tourism. The sector accounts for 50 to 60% of the national GDP: it is therefore hard to beat. “It's a taboo subject here,” comments political scientist Yvan Lara “Until now, it was more of a problem of limiting the population that lives permanently in Andorra, but for four or five years, limiting tourist flows is an idea that is gaining momentum in the public debate .

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Will foreign vehicles soon be taxed to enter Andorra? Tourists, cross-border workers and traders are expressing concern

Enough to worry Andorran traders who say a tax on foreign vehicles would spell the end of good business in the Principality. For this reason, the Chamber of Commerce recently rejected the government's proposal, which it considers “counterproductive”, in the terms used by colleagues of Diaries of Andorra : such a tax “will have a negative impact in particular on the food and the commercial sector”, says the entity. Concern also on the part of the Ariégeois who cross the border every day to go to work, as well as among the 1,500 cross-border workers living in Spain, all affected by this potential measure. The Andorran authorities don't want to rush: “We don't want to enter the “turismophobia”, Xavier Espot, the head of the Andorran government, insisted a few days ago on his microphone Radio Catalunya. We want to continue to be a tourist country, but we want to bet on higher quality tourism”.

Enough to signal the end of the golden age of cigarettes and cheap booze? “We've been hearing this kind of speech for thirty years, but Andorra has never been able to escape this mass tourism,” assures Yvan Lara. Therefore, the Andorran government takes it with a grain of salt. No penalty issues for day visitors, just an upgrade. “Tourists who spend at least one night in the territory are already subject to a tourist tax,” explains the political scientist, “This tax is a way of leveling the contributions of people visiting the Principality.”

The Andorran executive currently takes the pulse of “economic and social agents”. He gives himself “at least until the end of the year, to be able to reflect on the relevance of this measure”.