The Esposende Municipal Tourist Tax, of two euros in the high season and €1.5 in the low season, will begin to be charged within 30 days, according to the regulation published in the Diário da República.
The regulation sets the tax at €2 between 1 April and 30 September and €1.5 from 1 October to 31 March.
The overnight tax will be charged per night for guests aged 16 or older, up to a maximum of five consecutive days.
It applies to any type of accommodation, including campsites and caravan parks.
Exemptions from payment
Exempt from payment are, first and foremost, guests and one accompanying person who travel to the municipality of Esposende for health reasons, including medical treatments, examinations or consultations, provided that proof is provided by a suitable document attesting to the booking or provision of these services.
Guests accommodated by express determination of public entities, resulting from a declaration of social emergency or civil protection, also do not pay the fee.
The exemption also covers guests who, due to conflict or forced displacement from their countries of origin, reside temporarily in Portugal, provided that this is duly proven by the competent services responsible for the asylum application.
Residents of the municipality of Esposende, in the district of Braga, also do not pay.
Increased tourist demand
The regulation highlights that, between 2020 and 2025, the number of guests and overnight stays in the municipality increased by 74.33% and 69.37%, respectively, "reflecting a growing demand for the municipality as a tourist destination and translating into an increasingly intensive use of municipal infrastructure, equipment and services by visitors".
In 2020, Esposende registered 26,325 guests and 57,028 overnight stays, rising to 102,568 guests and 186,194 overnight stays, respectively, in 2025.
"This growth determines a significant increase in the pressure exerted on public space, municipal infrastructure, collective facilities and services provided by the Municipality, especially in the areas of urban cleaning, waste management, maintenance of public spaces, conservation of bathing areas, environmental protection, mobility, security, visitor information and enhancement of natural, cultural and landscape heritage," the regulation also states.
Greater financial effort
It adds that responding to this additional demand requires a permanent financial effort by the municipality to ensure the maintenance of quality, safety, sustainability, and enjoyment of the territory for both residents and visitors.
Thus, revenue from the tourist tax is primarily intended to finance interventions to maintain, conserve, enhance, and strengthen municipal infrastructure, equipment, public spaces, and services used or affected by tourism.
It will also finance other measures aimed at ensuring the sustainability of the tourist destination and the continuous improvement of visitor reception conditions.
The value of the tourist tax may be updated annually, through the municipal budget, according to the average rate of change over the last 12 months of the consumer price index, when positive, published by the National Institute of Statistics and reported for the month considered for the purposes of preparing the municipal budget.