Venice officials have already said this is not the top for the daytripper fee.
ADVERTISEMENTVenice’s tourist tax trial earned the lagoon city €2.2 million, so why is it being branded a ‘failure’?
“The ticket is a failure, as demonstrated by city data,” says Giovanni Andrea Martini, an opposition city council member.
The daytripper fee drew many opponents over time it took the town to get it up and running. After years of delays, some because of Covid, visitors have been charged €5 on 29 days this yr, mostly weekends and holidays.
Authorities have said the levy will proceed and could possibly be doubled for 2025, bringing it as much as €10.
Did the tax help to combat overtourism?
Over the weekend, several dozen activists gathered outside Venice’s Santa Lucia train station to protest the €5 levy that they are saying did little to dissuade visitors from arriving on peak days, as envisioned.
Over the primary 11 days of the trial period, a mean of 75,000 visitors were recorded in the town. Opposition city council member Martini said that’s 10,000 more every day than on three indicative holidays in 2023, citing figures provided by the town based on cell phone data that tracks arrivals within the city.
Why is Venice charging a tourist tax?
The fee is “not a tool for making money,” the town said previously in an announcement.
Except for the prices of running the system, any proceeds from the entry fees will go towards services that help the residents of the city. These include maintenance, cleansing and reducing living costs.
When Venice imposed the long-discussed daytripper tax, it helped to stop UNESCO from “blacklisting” the town for an absence of upkeep.
Opponents of the plan say the tax has did not make the town more liveable for residents, as intended, with the narrow walkways and water taxis as crowded as ever.
They need policies that encourage repopulation of Venice’s historic centre, which has been losing residents to the more convenient mainland for a long time, including placing limits on short-term rentals.
There at the moment are more tourist beds within the canaled historic center than official residents, whose numbers stand at an all-time low of fifty,000.
How many individuals paid Venice’s tourist tax and the way much money did the town make?
During the last 2.5 months, nearly 450,000 tourists have paid the tax, raising revenues of some €2.2 million euros, in line with AP calculations based on data supplied by the town.
Officials said the cash could be used for essential services, which cost more in a city traversed by canals, including rubbish removal and maintenance.
How much is Venice’s tourist tax in 2025?
Town’s top tourism official, Simone Venturini, has indicated that the levy will likely be continued and reinforced.
ADVERTISEMENTA proposal to double the fee to €10 is being considered for next yr, a city spokesman said.
“Wanting to lift this to €10, is totally useless. It makes Venice a museum,” Martini, the town council member, said.
How many individuals were fined for not paying the tax?
Officials warned of steep fines for individuals who dodged the tax, but ultimately none got during checks at entry points. These varied from a low of 8,500 to a high 20,800 a day over the period.
City officials say that’s because they wanted a soft launch. Critics say it resulted in a downward trend in payments as visitors understood there was no risk in dodging the payment.
ADVERTISEMENTWho has to pay Venice’s tourist tax?
The levy was not applied to people staying in hotels in Venice, who’re already charged a city tax.
Exemptions also applied to children under 14, residents of the region, students, staff and other people visiting relatives, amongst others.
