European aviation and travel group bosses have criticised the proposed increase in the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) fee from €7 to €20.

A joint statement from travel industry leaders, including the European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Association (ECTAA), European Tourism Association, Airlines for Europe (A4E) said the price hike was disproportionate and a threat to the continent’s travel competitiveness.

“This increase appears disproportionate and runs counter to the original intention of the co-legislators (European Parliament and Council), who agreed to a modest and reasonable fee during the 2018 negotiations – a key outcome supported by the travel and tourism sector,” the statement reads.

They highlighted concerns about fairness and pointed out that although the fee increase may be small on its own, it would add to escalating costs for families.

This is especially as overnight taxes have also soared in several popular European cities, such as Barcelona, Venice and Lisbon.

The ETIAS fee increase poses “another cost and administrative burden on travellers, with little noticeable benefit to the user experience”, according to Patrick Diemer, chair of BT4Europe, as reported by Business Travel News.

He added: “We support secure, efficient entry systems, but only where they deliver real value to travellers and businesses alike. This fee hike sends the wrong signal.”

The ETIAS is likely to start operating late next year, requiring visa-exempt non-EU travellers from countries like US, UK, Brazil, Canada and Australia to get an online authorisation before travelling to the EU.

Lack of transparency and insufficient evidence for fee hike

The ETIAS fee increase also comes as the European travel and tourism sector faces ongoing challenges caused by high inflation, geopolitical instability and soaring operational costs.

Travel industry leaders raised concerns about the lack of transparency around the proposed figure and questioned whether other pricing models, such as €10 or €12 had been sufficiently considered.

“At present, insufficient evidence has been offered to justify that such a fee level is necessary for the operation and maintenance of ETIAS,” said the statement.

The EU has cited higher operational costs for this price jump and emphasised that it will also help it better align with international travel standards. The hike is expected to help pay for ongoing maintenance, new technical features and operational staffing.

This will include stronger encryption, upgraded automation and better coordination with other EU travel systems such as the Entry/Exit System (EES).

Travel associations slammed using other travel authorisation schemes such as the UK ETA as justification for the ETIAS, saying: “Fee decisions should reflect the actual operational needs of the EU system and be fully justified. They should not aim to align with unrelated schemes without clear rationale and legal basis.”

They are calling for an impact assessment by the European Commission, justifying the proposed fee hike with a thorough cost breakdown.. The Council and European Parliament have also been urged to implement a more evidence-based and proportionate fee.