GetYourGuide to Pass Its Digital Services Tax Bill to Tour Operators
The travel platform will start charging a surcharge to suppliers in five markets to cover digital services taxes.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- GetYourGuide is shifting its digital services tax costs onto tour operators through commission surcharges.
- The policy takes effect on October 1, 2026, across France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the UK.
- UK operators face an additional 1.8% surcharge stacked on top of their existing commission rates.
- Underlying digital services taxes reach as high as 7% in Turkey.
GetYourGuide is set to introduce a supplier surcharge designed to cover the digital services taxes (DST) it incurs in France, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. The company confirmed that this structural shift will officially take effect on October 1, 2026, following a period where the platform absorbed these national levies since January 2025 and listed them separately on invoices starting in April 2026.
The newly introduced surcharges vary significantly by market and apply on top of pre-existing commission structures. For instance, one operator based in the UK reported facing an extra 1.8% surcharge added to their baseline 25% commission rate, while the underlying digital services tax rate itself reaches up to 7% for operations in Turkey.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
GetYourGuide has publicly voiced its opposition to the current framework of digital services taxes, arguing that taxing gross revenue rather than net profit disproportionately harms growing European tech firms and the small businesses relying on them. While the company continues lobbying policymakers for alternative approaches, this cost-shifting playbook closely mirrors actions previously taken by tech giants like Meta and Google.
This move underscores the growing friction between regional tax policies and digital travel marketplaces. Digital services taxes were originally conceived to target the massive revenues of multinational tech giants that cross specific thresholds (such as 500 million pounds globally in the UK). However, as platforms pass these expenses down the supply chain, the financial burden ultimately trickles to small independent tour operators and, consequently, end consumers through higher travel prices.
Impacted suppliers, such as Wales Outdoors, have noted that they will likely be forced to raise prices for consumers to absorb these accumulating platform fees, pointing out that such business surcharges rarely disappear once implemented.
Source: Skift
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