| The Tax Barometer is composed of four trip elements:
lodging, car rental, meals, and airport arrival and departure. Each element of the
trip is priced according to a standard purchase by a hypothetical "WTTC
Traveler" in each destination.
This trip includes
the purchase of four nights' lodging, four days'
car rental, twelve meals, and one set of international arrival and departure
airport charges. Taxes imposed on these purchases are then
identified, recorded, and developed into a sector index. Next, these elements are
aggregated into a composite index for the destination, based on the average cost of each
element included in the standardized trip. If you would like more information on the
development of the Tax Barometer, please refer to our research methodology. |
 |
Rank |
|
Total tax $ for 5-day/4-night trip: |
$178.78 |
28 |
|
Percentage of total item cost: |
16.59% |
31 |
|
Overall tax index: |
89 |
4 |
The first item in the above table represents
the combined tax total
paid by the WTTC Traveler in each of the four sectors in
Athens. The second
item (percentage of total
item cost)
indicates what percentage of the total bill
is devoted to taxes.
The last item (overall tax index)
reflects the cumulative change in the amount
of tax paid in U.S. dollars between June 1994 and
June 2002.
The rankings show how
Athens compares with other Tax Barometer cities; a ranking of 1
is most competitive, while a ranking of 52 is least competitive.
Summary:
Athens currently has an
overall Tax Barometer index of 89,
indicating a 11%
reduction in
travel-related taxes since June 15, 1994.
This decrease can be mainly attributed to significant reductions in
the Greek VAT on lodging and restaurant meals; both were reduced
from 18.0% to 8.0% in 1995. These reductions have helped offset
increases in the car rental and air passenger sectors.
For a five-day, four-night trip to Athens,
travelers can expect to pay approximately $179.00
in tourism-related taxes, a total that ranks as the
25th highest among all surveyed destinations. |
 |
Rank |
|
Average price for 4-day rental (mid-size) without taxes: |
$270.75 |
- |
|
Airport access fee: |
13.00% |
- |
|
Value added tax (VAT): |
18.00% |
- |
|
Total charges for 4-day rental with taxes: |
$354.68 |
- |
|
Total tax $ for 4-day rental: |
$83.93 |
48 |
|
Percentage of total car rental cost: |
23.66% |
38 |
|
Car rental tax index: |
129 |
28 |
|
Summary:
In 1994, car rentals in Athens were subject to an 18.00% VAT and 6.00%
airport access fee. While the VAT rate has remained the same,
the access fee was increased to 13.00% in March 2001. The total
tax charges for a four-day mid-sized car rental now total nearly
$84.00, fifth highest among all surveyed destinations. |
 |
Rank |
|
Average price for 4-nights lodging without taxes: |
$419.61 |
- |
| Value
added tax (VAT): |
8.00% |
- |
| Local
lodging tax: |
2.16% |
- |
| Total
charges for 4-nights lodging with taxes: |
$462.24 |
- |
|
Total tax $ for four-nights: |
$42.63 |
19 |
|
Percentage of total hotel room cost: |
9.22% |
21 |
|
Hotel
tax index: |
56 |
2 |
Summary: Athens has lowered its
lodging tax rate more than any other surveyed destination except for
Mumbai, India since 1994.
When the Greek VAT was restructured in 1994, the VAT on hotel rooms
was lowered from 18.00% to 8.00%. Visitors to Athens can expect
to pay nearly $43.00 in taxes for a five-day, four-night hotel stay, a
total that ranks as the 34th highest among all surveyed destinations;
in 1994, before the tax rate reduction, Athens had the tenth highest
total hotel tax charge. |
 |
Rank |
|
Average price for 12 restaurant meals
without taxes: |
$241.18 |
- |
| Value
added tax (VAT): |
8.00% |
- |
|
Total charges for 12 meals with taxes: |
$260.47 |
- |
|
Total tax $ for 12 meals: |
$19.29 |
19 |
|
Percentage of total restaurant meals cost: |
7.41% |
20 |
|
Restaurant tax index: |
44 |
3 |
Summary: The tax rate on restaurant meals has been lowered
significantly since 1994. As with the lodging tax rate, the VAT
on restaurant meals was lowered ten percentage points to 8.0% when the
Greek VAT rate was restructured. In 2001, Athens eliminated a
local 2.16% tax on meals, thereby giving Athens the third lowest
restaurant index among all surveyed destinations. |
 |
Rank |
|
International airport development
charge: |
22.00 |
- |
|
International passenger security charge: |
1.29 |
 |
|
International passenger terminal
facilities charge: |
10.30 |
|
|
Total tax $ for international arrival and departure: |
$32.14 |
40 |
|
Percentage of total trip cost: |
2.65% |
40 |
|
Air passenger tax index: |
211 |
41 |
| (
in rank column indicates a tax decrease in Tax Barometer No. 11)
Summary:
Since 1994, Athens has more than doubled its charges on international
airline passengers, and its current index of 211 is the 13th
highest among all surveyed destinations. The international
airport development charge, levied at a rate of GRD 5700 in the base
index, is now 22.00, or roughly GRD 7500. Two new
taxes were introduced in August 2001: a 1.52
international passenger security charge, and a 12.15 passenger
terminal facilities charge. Both of these fees were lowered in
2002 to the levels noted above.
Despite these reductions, Athens remains the second
most expensive air travel destination among all surveyed destinations
in Europe, and the thirteenth highest overall. |
 |
|
Barometer No. 1:
Greeces VAT rate
was restructured and both hotel rooms and meals were moved into lower
VAT rate classifications, thereby lowering the index in these two
sectors.
Barometer No. 2:
The VAT rate on restaurant meals from was reduced from 18.0% to 8.0%
Barometer No. 7:
The airport development charge was increased from GRD 6,100 to GRD
6,700.
Barometer No. 8:
The airport development charge was lowered to GRD 6,600.
Barometer No. 9:
The airport
development charge was increased from GRD 6,600 to GRD 6,700 effective
July 1, 2000.
Barometer No. 10:
The airport surcharge on car rentals was increased to 13.0%. This
change went into effect in March 2001. In addition, the VAT on
restaurant meals was lowered from 10.16% to 8.0%. In the airline
sector, the international airport development charge was switched from
GRD 6,700 to 22.00, effective 3-23-01. Two new taxes were also
introduced in this sector: a 1.52 international passenger security
charge, and a 12.15 passenger terminal facilities charge. Both of
these taxes went into effect 8-1-01.
Barometer No. 11:
The international
passenger service charge for passengers departing from Spata
International Airport was lowered from 1.52 to 1.29 and the
passenger terminal facilities charge was lowered from 12.15 to
10.30. Both changes took effect on October 15, 2001. |
|
