Hawaii imposes first cruise tax

Monday, 05 May, 2025 2

Starting next year, cruises to Hawaii are going to become a little more costly.

The Hawaii State Legislature passed a bill to increase the transient accommodations tax, which for the first time, will include cruise ship visits.

Around one million visitors arrive by cruise ship but haven’t been subject to the tax before. It is currently payable for stays at hotels and short term rentals.

The new expanded TAT bill comes into force on January 1, 2026 and is expected to generate up to %100 million annually.

Cruise lines would be charged a pro-rated fee based on the basic cruise fare and time spent in port.

Lawmakers say this makes it fairer and all visitors to Hawaii should contribute.

The TAT is collected to fund ‘natural resource management, climate-related disaster mitigation and mitigating tourism impacts on the environment.’

“The more you cultivate good environmental policy, the more likely it is we’re going to have, committed travelers to Hawaii,” said Governor Josh Green.

Cruise lines recently criticized the expansion of the tax which it calls ‘unconstitutional.’

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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.

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