At the end of October, the lower house of Mexico’s Congress took the final steps toward voting in a new tax for tourists coming into the country by cruise ship.
The new law, which is expected to come into effect in January 2025, would charge $42 for every passenger aboard a ship docking in a Mexican port like Cozumel or Cabo San Lucas (a fee that cruise ships would presumably pass on to travelers in the final cost of the voyage.)
Just like many other countries, Mexico charges a tax to foreigners flying into the country through an airport tax but cruise ship passengers were formerly considered exempt due to cruise ships being considered as in-transit travel.
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Image source: Daniel Kline/Come Cruise With Me
'Make cruise tourism in Mexico 213% more expensive'
The controversial law was heavily criticized by both cruising associations and tourism industry representatives concerned over ship companies opting for ports that do not charge such fees.
The Florida-Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA) sent Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum a letter claiming that "a move that would make cruise tourism in Mexico 213% more expensive than the average Caribbean port – will effectively price Mexican ports out of the cruise market."
While most countries have put such taxes toward restoration or preservation of the areas affected by tourism, Mexico's Congress said that only one-third of the funds raised from the tax will go toward improving the port facilities. The remaining two-thirds will instead go toward funding the Mexican army.
Currently holding parliamentary majority, Mexico’s center-left National Regeneration Movement party more often referred to simply as Morena has run into numerous deficits for both federal and municipal construction projects that are in part conducted by the army — the expansion of the country's railway among others.
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"It is necessary to eliminate the exemption from immigration document payment for foreign passengers who enter Mexico aboard cruise ships," the new law reads.
Related: Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian fight Mexico’s new port tax
Could new tax make cruise lines reconsider stops in Mexico?
The FCCA estimates that over 10 million visitors come to Mexico by cruise stop every year while 3,300 ships are expected to dock in one of its ports in 2025.
The Eastern Mexican state of Quintana Roo already charges each cruise ship arrival $5 for a National Disaster Prevention Fund meant to help offset the impact of mass tourism on sea levels and local animal and plant ecosystems. The national fee would add to the fee for a total of $47.
While such tourist taxes generally do not tend to bring down the tourist numbers in the countries that implement them, industry insiders argue that adding one for cruise ship visitors may be different as they could play a role in which ports cruise companies choose to keep the prices they charge travelers down.
"If this tax passes it will make cruise lines reconsider some of their stops in Mexico," Come Cruise With Me Executive Editor Daniel Kline says. "Port fees for a family of four would be $168 just for a single stop in a Mexican port and that adds up fast. It would not shock me if this tax forced Royal Caribbean (RCL) to reconsider is investment in a Cozumel Beach Club and in building Perfect Day Mexico in Costa Maya."
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