VENICE is set to double its tourist charge for some day-trippers later this year.
More than 25 million people every year visit Venice, with officials in the city introducing a tourist charge for day-trippers last year.
The fee, which was set at €5 (£4.20), raised more than €2m (£1.6m) for the city, with officials spending the funds on services like litter removal and maintenance.
City officials who were keen to keep the charge going have now confirmed its return for 2025.
Day-trippers who book last-minute trips to Venice will feel the biggest sting, with reservations that are made less than four days in advance costing €10 (£8.35) per person.
Holidaymakers who are a bit more organised, and book their trips more than five days ahead of their planned visit, will only have to pay €5 (£4.20).
The new system will be in place over the Easter holidays, running from April 18 through to May 4.
After that period, only day-trippers who visit Venice on a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday between May 4 and the end of July will have to pay the charge.
This is to help incentivise tourists to visit the small Italian city on weekdays, rather than during the weekend.
Overnight tourists with hotel reservations are exempt from the charge – although they will still need to pay the country’s traditional tourist tax.
Students, residents, Venetian-born visitors and workers are also exempt from the new charge.
Holidaymakers who are only visiting the minor islands in the Venetian Lagoon like Mazzorbo and San Michele won’t have to pay the fee either.
Fees can be paid online or through ticket counters in Venice (just remember this will cost more).
All visitors will either need a QR code on their smartphone or a print-out of the code to be allowed entry into Venice.
Anyone caught without a reservation could be fined up to €300 (£250).
Venice introduced the day-tripper tax for 29 days last year on weekends and holidays from April 25 until mid-July.
While the idea was well received by Unesco member states and helped to generate millions in funding, opponents said the scheme didn’t improve the city’s livability.
This is because the city’s narrow walkways and water taxis remained as crowded as ever, according to some locals.
Critics of the scheme have called strict policies that encourage the repopulation of Venice’s historic centre, which has been losing residents to the mainland for decades, including placing limits on short-term rentals.
There are now more tourist beds in Venice than official residents, whose numbers stand at an all-time low of 50,000.
Giovanni Martini, the city council member, added: “Wanting to raise this to 10 euros is absolutely useless. It makes Venice a museum.”
Read more on the Scottish Sun
Other destinations with tourists taxes
These popular holiday spots either have a tourist tax in place, or are introducing one soon.
Greece
Holidaymakers heading to Greece in the near future could be hit with a tourist tax, with plans for the levy outlined by the government earlier this year.
Holidaymakers traveling to the popular holiday destination during the high season (from March to October) will face an additional tax on overnight stays.
Just like the previous tax, the rate will vary depending on the type of accommodation tourists have booked, and it will range from €1 (£0.86) to €4 (£3.45) per night.
The new tax will be added to the country’s existing accommodation tax, resulting in higher charges.
Tenerife
Visitors to the Canary Island will be hit with a new tourist tax after locals demanded a freeze on holidaymakers in mass anti-tourism protests.
The new tax system will come into effect from January 1, 2025, as residents of Tenerife demand a cut in the number of holidaymakers.
The amount visitors will have to pay has not been confirmed yet.
Tunisia
Holidaymakers heading to Tunisia will be forced to pay a new tourist tax under plans outlined by the country’s government.
From November 1, 2024, package holidaymakers staying at properties with a two-star rating or higher will need to pay an additional charge for their overnight stay.
The rate will vary depending on the type of accommodation tourists have booked, and it will range from 4 Tunisian Dinars (£1) to 12 Tunisian Dinars (£4) per night.
For example, holidaymakers who’ve booked to stay at a two-star hotel will need to pay 4 Tunisian Dinars (£1) per night.
Meanwhile, those staying at three-star hotels will be asked to pay 8 Tunisian Dinars (£2) per night, while four and five-star hotel stays will cost an additional 12 Tunisian Dinars (£3).
Meanwhile, this popular tourist destination is also planning to increase its daily tourist charge.
And this UK seaside town became the first to tax tourists last year.
2
