Deputy Mayor of Tallinn Margot Roose (Eesti 200) made the suggestion in response to a document from the Ministry of Economic Affairs. It forecasts an increase in tourist flows over 10 years by approximately 50 percent to 9.3 million nights per year.

Roose said the city government would like to introduce a tourist tax.

"This would help cover additional costs and improve infrastructure for receiving tourists," she said, adding that revenue from the tourist tax should go toward developing local businesses and public space, that is, it should be a targeted levy, not a general tax.

The deputy mayor said Tallinn will be visited by approximately three million foreign tourists this year, and the tax could amount to between €1-3 per tourist.

However, the city government has not yet made detailed calculations.

Roose said a tax of this size would not reduce tourists' interest in visiting Tallinn.

"The experience of other cities also shows that if a person wants to come, they will not refuse the trip because of this," she said.

Roose said if cruise tourist numbers recover to 600,000 per year the existing infrastructure may struggle to cope.

"Public toilets, service institutions, transport, roads – in the sense that if cruise tourists all arrive in a crowd and there is already congestion when leaving the port," Roose said.

The deputy mayor said Tallinn can cope with up to 10,000 cruise tourists per day.

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