The top band is €5,308.91 per ship—not per passenger. The draft applies only to international cruise ships at Poluotok, while Gaženica remains exempt.
€5,308.91 is neither new nor a passenger tax
Zadar is consulting on the tourist levy for international cruise ships in 2028. The frequently quoted €5,308.91 is the highest flat charge per qualifying ship stay. It is not charged separately to every traveller.
The band is determined by the ship’s authorised passenger capacity, not the number of people who actually go ashore. The operator or company is liable; a ship agent may handle calculation and payment.
Six bands range from €265.45 to €5,308.91
The draft scales the flat charge by capacity: €265.45 for 50–200 places, €663.61 for 201–500, €1,327.23 for 501–1,000 and €2,654.46 for 1,001–2,000 passenger places.
Ships with 2,001–3,000 places would pay €3,981.68 and those from 3,001 places €5,308.91. The published draft contains no tariff band below 50 places; no additional rule should be invented without an official explanation.
Poluotok is charged; Gaženica is deliberately exempt
The rule is intended to cover international cruise ships at a berth or anchorage belonging to the Putnička luka Zadar port area on Poluotok. The large Gaženica cruise port is expressly exempt.
The city justifies the maximum rate at Poluotok by its central and representative location. Gaženica is to remain free of the levy for competitiveness with other cruise destinations. A cruise ship in Zadar therefore does not trigger the charge from the city name alone.
The 2028 rule would continue the existing model
The city gazettes show that the same scale has applied at Poluotok since 1 January 2026 and was also adopted for 2027. The present draft does not introduce an entirely new €5,308 charge; it would continue the geographically limited rule for 2028.
What is new is the current consultation and decision cycle. Describing it as the first creation of the tax or an across-the-board charge on the Gaženica terminal confuses the new occasion with an existing rule.
For now it is a draft in public consultation
The mayor established the draft on 24 September and the city published it the following day. Comments may be submitted until 26 October 2026. They must then be evaluated and documented in a report.
Only afterwards can the city council decide. The draft gives 1 January 2028 as the effective date. Under the Tourist Levy Act, a 2028 rule must be adopted by 31 January 2027. The text can still change before then.
Eighty-five per cent goes to the city, fifteen per cent to the county
The law allocates 85 per cent of revenue to the city and 15 per cent to the county. It is intended for public and tourist infrastructure and sustainable-development projects.
The draft gives neither a revenue forecast nor a specific project list. Revenue cannot be calculated reliably from the number of calls without the capacity, port area and liability of every stay.
The 220 calls in 2025 are not yet a tax calculation
The port authority reported 220 cruise calls in 2025: 131 at Gaženica, 82 at Poluotok and seven at anchorages. This split alone shows why multiplying every call by the top rate would be wrong.
Gaženica remains exempt under the draft, ships fall into different capacity bands, and not every anchorage necessarily belongs to the covered Poluotok area. The tariff logic is therefore reliable—not a multi-million total constructed from rough figures.
Faktatilanne
Lähteet ja päiväys
Lähteet tukevat faktoja. Suunnitteluohjeet ja suositukset ovat Golden Beachin toimituksellisia arvioita.
- Draft decision on the tourist levy for cruise shipsCity of Zadar · 25 September 2026; checked 26 September 2026Draft, consultation period, submissions and later procedure
- Draft decision for 2028City of Zadar · 24 September 2026; checked 26 September 2026Tariff bands, geographic scope and planned commencement
- Explanation of the draft decisionCity of Zadar · September 2026; checked 26 September 2026Reasons for the Poluotok maximum, Gaženica exemption and procedure
- Zakon o turističkoj pristojbiNarodne novine · 2019; checked 26 September 2026Legal competence, deadline, liability and revenue distribution
- Tourist levy decision for cruise ships in 2026City of Zadar · Official Gazette 17/2024 · 4 December 2024; checked 26 September 2026Tariff in force since 1 January 2026 and its restriction to Poluotok
- Tourist levy decision for cruise ships in 2027City of Zadar · Official Gazette 27/2025 · 19 December 2025; checked 26 September 2026Continuation of the same six tariff bands adopted for 2027
- Pravilnik on payment and processing of the tourist levyNarodne novine · 26 June 2020; checked 26 September 2026Billing, payment, reporting and possible representation by a maritime or ship agent
- Pravilnik o najnižem i najvišem iznosu turističke pristojbeNarodne novine · 2019; checked 26 September 2026National maxima for the six capacity bands
- Promet kruzera 2025Zadar Port Authority · 2025; checked 26 September 2026Calls at Gaženica, Poluotok and anchorages
