Key Notes
- Malta’s 2027 Budget proposes accommodation tax of €8 per adult per night in hotels and €10 in short-let apartments from January 1.
- The announced caps are €64 per person in collective accommodation and €80 in short lets, both reached after eight chargeable nights.
- Separate budget measures include €5 for Comino visits, €10 for certain cruise passengers and higher tourist ferry fares.
Malta plans a sharp rise in its tourist accommodation tax from January 1, 2027, with adult hotel guests facing €8 per person per night and visitors in short-let apartments paying €10. The proposals would substantially increase the extra cost of a holiday, alongside new charges for Comino visits and cruise passengers and higher tourist ferry fares.
The changes form part of Finance Minister Clyde Caruana’s 2027 Budget. For travellers, the distinction between hotels and apartments matters: both would carry a nightly levy, but at different rates and with separate limits on the amount charged per person.
Hotels and Apartments Face Different Rates
Under the budget speech, the accommodation eco-contribution would rise from the current €1.50 nightly rate to:
- Hotels, guesthouses and other collective accommodation: €8 per adult per night, capped at €64 per person for a stay
- Short-let apartments: €10 per adult per night, capped at €80 per person for a stay
Both proposed caps are reached after eight chargeable nights. A longer stay would therefore reach the limit rather than continue adding the same nightly amount indefinitely. The cap applies to each person, so two adults sharing one room would each have their own charge.
The budget also provides for removing the eco-contribution on accommodation at English-language schools, separating those stays from the higher charges announced for hotels and short lets.
What a Week Would Cost Two Adults
At the announced rates, two adults staying seven nights in a hotel would pay €112 in accommodation tax: seven nights at €8 for each guest. The same length of stay in a short-let apartment would produce a €140 charge.
For comparison, seven nights for two adults at the current €1.50 rate comes to €21. On that example, the proposed increase adds €91 to the hotel stay or €119 to the apartment stay, before any separate transport or visitor charges.
At eight chargeable nights or more, the two-person accommodation levy would reach €128 in a hotel or €160 in a short let. These are calculations of the announced tax alone; they do not include the room rate, flights or excursions.
New Fees for Comino and Cruise Visitors
The budget also announces a €5 eco-contribution for tourists visiting Comino, to be collected through the Blue Lagoon’s existing timed booking system. Travellers planning a boat excursion should distinguish that visitor charge from the price of the boat trip itself.
A separate €10 contribution would apply to cruise passengers who disembark in Malta and then return to the same ship. Passengers beginning their cruise in Malta would be excluded: the announced measure distinguishes a port call from a voyage that starts in the country.
Gozo Ferry Trips Would Also Cost More
Tourists using the fast ferry face a €3 increase per trip. The budget’s ferry proposals separately increase Gozo Channel’s adult non-resident passenger fare from €4.65 to €11.
The announced Gozo Channel schedule also raises the child non-resident fare from €1.15 to €7 and the vehicle-and-driver tariff from €15.70 to €22. Those categories should be checked separately when comparing a foot-passenger visit with taking a car.
Check the Full Price Before Booking
The January 1 start date is explicit for the accommodation increase. The new Comino, cruise and ferry charges are separate budget measures; travellers should check the relevant booking system or operator’s published implementation details before paying for a trip.
We have also covered Venice’s visitor fee, another example of a destination charge that needs to be considered alongside accommodation and transport. Each scheme has its own eligibility rules and collection arrangements.
For a Malta holiday in 2027, ask the accommodation provider whether its quoted total includes the eco-contribution, and confirm how the per-person cap will be applied. Keeping that amount separate from ferry fares and excursion charges makes it easier to compare the full cost of a hotel stay with an apartment holiday.
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